Mexico President Says He Was Clear With Donald Trump: We're Not Paying For Your Wall

Mexico's president said he clearly told Donald Trump at the start of their meeting Wednesday that Mexicans would not pay for a proposed wall along the U.S. border, directly contradicting the Republican nominee's statement hours earlier while the two men stood about 10 feet from each other.

"At the beginning of the conversation with Donald Trump I made it clear that Mexico will not pay for the wall," Enrique Peña Nieto tweeted Wednesday night.

Trump, at a joint press conference with Peña Nieto hours before the tweet, had said the meeting between the two men was productive but that the issue of who would pay for Trump's proposed wall never came up.

"We did discuss the wall," Trump said at the news conference. "We didn't discuss payment of the wall. That'll be for a later date."

Hillary Clinton's campaign did not wait to pounce following Peña Nieto's account.

"It turns out Trump didn't just choke," campaign chair John Podesta said in a statement, "he got beat in the room and lied about it."

A statement from the Trump campaign did not refute Peña Nieto's assertion about payment for the wall. Nor did the campaign's statement try to explain why Trump clearly said at the news conference that the issue never came up.

The meeting "was not a negotiation, and that would have been inappropriate," said the statement, from Trump's Senior Communications Adviser Jason Miller. "It is unsurprising that they hold two different views on the issue, and we look forward to continuing the conversation."

"The wall" is arguably Trump's signature policy proposal, and he has been brazen in his criticism of current U.S. leaders, who, Trump has said, have not been smart enough to negotiate with Mexico's leaders.

Trump has tried to characterize himself as the opposite — an unflinching dealer, an unshakable authoritarian and a fierce negotiator who won't back down in deliberations with foreign leaders.

"Donald Trump has made his outlandish policy of forcing Mexico to pay for his giant wall the centerpiece of his campaign," Podesta, the Clinton campaign chair, said after the press conference.

"But at the first opportunity to make good on his offensive campaign promises, Trump choked. What we saw today from a man who claims to be the ultimate ‘deal maker’ is that he doesn’t have the courage to advocate for his campaign promises when he’s not in front of a friendly crowd."

Stuart Stevens, the top Republican strategist on Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, made a similar assertion.

"Before today, Trump could at least assert he'd be a tough guy with Mexican president, demand he pay for a wall," he tweeted. "Today that fantasy died."

On his website, Trump lists seven "positions" pages, laying out his plan for America. One is simply titled, "Pay for the Wall."

Trump's plan is to cut off the nearly $24 billion in payments sent from Mexican-Americans to their families back home in Mexico until the country ponies up to build Trump's border wall.

At rallies, Trump regularly shouts, "Who is going to pay for the wall?" and is answered with a resounding, "Mexico!"

Image via Rick Uldricks, Patch Staff