Donald Trump's Visit with Mexico President: Talk of Wall, but not Payment

Donald Trump and Mexico president Enrique Peña Nieto held a joint press conference Wednesday afternoon from Mexico City, where the men laid out their visions for their respective countries without much in the way of political theater or verbal fireworks.

Peña Nieto reiterated his support for NAFTA and free trade, which Trump has said are disastrous for the United States. Peña Nieto added that Mexican-Americans are hard-working people who deserve everybody's respect.

Trump said he still had plans for a "physical wall" between the United States and Mexico, plans which he discussed with Peña Nieto. Trump said the two did not talk about Trump's plan to make Mexico pay for the wall.

LATEST: Mexican President Says He Told Donald Trump Mexicans Won't Pay For 'The Wall'

Trump landed in Mexico earlier Wednesday afternoon for his meeting with the president, which was apparently cobbled together and announced at the last minute and which occurred just hours before he is expected to give a landmark speech on immigration in Arizona.

Images and reports from the scene were initially scarce. The Trump campaign did not bring along its usual traveling press corps, a rarity for a U.S. official or presidential candidate making an international trip to meet with a world leader.

• Check back with Patch for live updates on Trump's visit to Mexico.
• Click here to watch live coverage of the visit from CNN.
• Click here to watch a live stream of Trump's immigration speech in Arizona

Before his rally in Everett, Washington, on Tuesday night, Trump announced his plans to travel over the southern border — the border he wants to protect with a wall — to meet with the president of a country whose residents he has characterized as dangerous rapists looking to wreak havoc on American soil.

It was unclear exactly where or when the meeting would take place between two men who are deeply unpopular in their home countries. Nationwide, 60.5 percent of Americans view Trump as unfavorable, and just 4 percent of Mexicans have a favorable view of the GOP nominee. Peña Nieto's approval rating in Mexico is at a dismal 23 percent.

"I believe in dialogue to promote the interests of Mexico in the world, and principally, to protect Mexicans wherever they are," Peña Nieto wrote in Spanish in a Tweet on Tuesday night confirming the meeting.

The Mexican president said he has also extended an invitation to Hillary Clinton, though the Clinton campaign has not confirmed that or said whether it will accept.

The meeting between Trump and Peña Nieto came hours before he attends a rally in Arizona where Trump is expected to clarify — once and for all — his stance on immigration and how he plans to deal with people in the United States illegally.

Peña Nieto has compared Trump's tone to dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, and Peña Nieto's administration has said that they will absolutely not be paying for a wall.

This will be Trump's first meeting with a head of state.

Clinton's campaign used the opportunity to remind people of Trump's previous comments on Mexico and its citizens.

"From the first days of his campaign, Donald Trump has painted Mexicans as 'rapists’ and criminals and has promised to deport 16 million people, including children and U.S. citizens," Clinton Communication Director Jennifer Palmieri said in a statement. "He has said we should force Mexico to pay for his giant border wall. He has said we should ban remittances to families in Mexico if Mexico doesn't pay up.

"What ultimately matters is what Donald Trump says to voters in Arizona, not Mexico, and whether he remains committed to the splitting up of families and deportation of millions."

Colin Miner contributed to this report.

Image via Gage Skidmore, Flickr, used under Creative Commons