Trump forgoes past insults, calls Mexico cherished friend

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, who has denigrated Mexican migrants and threatened the U.S. ally with crippling tariffs, welcomed President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to the White House on Wednesday with lofty language and he called America’s southern neighbor a cherished partner.

Trump said the countries’ economic and security relationship was reaching new heights.

Trump’s affectionate words were in stark contrast to the days when he called Mexicans “rapists” and railed against migrants entering the United States illegally.

Lopez Obrador had cordial words for Trump, too, saying that while the two leaders have disagreed, it was better to find common ground and avoid slinging insults.

“Instead of remembering the insults, things like that, against me, we have received from you President Trump an understanding and respect,” Lopez Obrador said. “Some people thought ideological difference differences would inevitably lead to confrontations.”

Back home, Lopez Obrador has received criticism for making this his first foreign trip as president, four months before the election. With no meetings planned with former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Lopez Obrador seemingly is banking that Trump will win a second term.

The meeting was billed as a celebration of economic ties and the new North American trade agreement, which took effect July 1. Critics in Mexico worry that Lopez Obrador is being used as a political pawn to bolster the Trump campaign.

Lopez Obrador arrived at the White House after morning stops at the Lincoln Memorial and a statue of Benito Juarez, a former Mexican president and national hero. Culminating the visit was a planned White House dinner with about 20 U.S. and Mexican business leaders, including Carlos Slim, one of the richest men in the world.

Trump and Lopez Obrador discussed the United States-Mexico-Canada trade deal. It replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was blamed for prompting U.S. companies to shift manufacturing to Mexico.

The Democratic Party chairman, Tom Perez, recalled Trump’s insults of Mexicans and said the president was now trying to take credit for a trade deal that Democrats in Congress helped make possible.

“Latino communities, immigrants and the American people deserve a president with the empathy and experience to lead us forward, not a demagogue who cheers on bigotry from the White House,” Perez said, urging voters to elect Biden.

Canada’s prime minister and Trump rival, Justin Trudeau, decided not to come to Washington celebrate the agreement, citing scheduling conflicts.

With the U.S. looking to reduce its supply chain in China, Mexico is well-positioned to step into the void, administration officials told reporters on a call outlining the visit.