All the hubbub last night over Trump threatening to send troops to Mexico was for naught, as both a US official and the spokesman for Mexico’s president have both now defended the call.
An anonymous US official told the AP this morning that Trump’s comments were merely lighthearted:
BREAKING: US official: Trump remark about having military deal with `hombres' in Mexico was `lighthearted,' part of security talks.
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 2, 2017
Late last night the office of the President of Mexico said the AP’s original characterization was simply false:
Eduardo Sanchez, spokesman for Mexico’s presidential office, said the conversation was respectful, not hostile or humiliating. “It is absolutely false that the president of the United States threatened to send troops to Mexico,” Sanchez said in an interview with Radio Formula on Wednesday night.
The Mexican Foreign Relations Department had earlier told The AP: “The negative statements you refer to did not occur during said telephone call. On the contrary, the tone was constructive.”
As we pointed out last night, CNN’s own Jake Tapper disputed the characterization from the get go:
My reporting suggests the AP is not quoting a transcript it is quoting from an internal WH readout of the Trump/Peña Nieto call. I have …1
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 2, 2017
2 an excerpt of the transcript & we're about to publish what President Trump actually said on the call. It's not as antagonistic as readout
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 2, 2017
As soon as I saw the AP’s write up last night, I was extremely suspicious. On it’s face, the claim seemed outlandish. But then I never was one who believed Trump would be this fascist dictator that the Left and some Never Trumpers thought he’d be.
I just wonder if the same leaked transcript had come during the Obama administration, would the AP have run with the story that Obama threatened to send troops into Mexico or would they have been more skeptical and dug for more details first?