Trump’s Little Mexican War
Doesn’t the “art of the deal” include giving your negotiating partner room to compromise? Mr. Trump made it impossible for Mr. Peña Nieto even to negotiate, all the more so after Mr. Peña Nieto went out of his way in August to invite Mr. Trump for a visit. That campaign stop helped Mr. Trump show he could stand on stage as an equal with a foreign leader, but Mr. Peña Nieto took a beating at home when Mr. Trump returned to Mexico-bashing.
When Mr. Trump visited the Journal in November 2015, we asked if the U.S. should encourage political stability and economic growth in Mexico. “I don’t care about Mexico honestly, I really don’t care about Mexico,” he replied.
.. Mexico’s main political parties have since traded stints in power, but both the PRI and the PAN have pressed economic reforms that have raised living standards and given Mexicans reasons to stay on their side of the Rio Grande.
.. Mr. Trump has accused Mexico of seeking a weak currency, but the central bank has been vigilant against inflation. The main reason the peso has fallen to 21 to the dollar from 17 in less than a year is Mr. Trump’s threats to destroy Nafta and start a trade war. The U.S. President is devaluing Mexico’s currency—the opposite of what he claims to want.