President Trump confirmed on Sunday that he had urged the Mexican president to let U.S. troops enter the country to help fight drug cartels, an idea she publicly refused.
Mr. Trump told reporters that the Air Force One trip to Washington in Palm Beach, Florida was “real” and he pushed with President Claudia Sheinbaum. The magazine said the proposal was first reported in the Wall Street Journal last week.
Ms. Sheinbaum also confirmed that Mr. Trump made the suggestion, which she refused. She recalls that Mexico and the United States could “cooperate” to tell him, but “with you on your territory and on our territory.”
Mr. Trump said he brought up the idea because the cartels are “the terrible people who kill people left and right and keep killing people — they played a role in selling drugs and destroying our people.”
He said: “If Mexico wants help in the cartel, we are honored to be in. I told her. I am honored to be in.
“The Mexican president is a lovely woman, but she is so scared of the cartel that she can't even be straightforward,” he said.
Mr. Trump has a better working relationship with Ms. Sheinbaum than the Canadian leader. However, relations with the two neighbors are in trouble in terms of trade and immigration.
