If you only read one thing: Donald Trump gave Dr. Jekyll a run for his money Wednesday as he delivered two drastically different statements on immigration and the role of immigrants in American society. Speaking in Mexico, Trump tried to pretend the first 15 months of his campaign, beginning with calling many Mexican immigrants to the U.S. “rapists,” never happened, saying he held immigrants “beyond reproach.” On policy, he tried to soften his to hardline stance of trade, arguing—seemingly in contradiction to his entire campaign to date—that it isn’t a zero-sum game. Too bad “Make the Western Hemisphere Great Again” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. But just hours later in Phoenix the same old Trump was back. He reinstated his call for a border wall and claimed Mexico would pay for it. He also called for a deportation force, promising to remove millions, if not all, of the 11 million people in the U.S. illegally starting on his first day in office. It was the sort of hawkish rhetoric that won him the GOP primary, but didn’t reflect his promised “softening” on the issue. In the end, Trump’s waffling over the last three weeks on the issue only seemed to aggravate his core supporters and won him few converts.
Trump, a political and geopolitical neophyte, is often graded on the curve by the press—and while many are touting that he appeared “presidential” in Mexico Wednesday, the reality is less clear. Trump seemed uncomfortable on stage standing next to Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, never looking at him while an interpreter stood at his side whispering in his ear. Trump also found himself at odds with Peña Nieto after claiming that the pair didn’t “discuss” who would pay for the proposed border wall. Peña Nieto, who previously compared Trump to Hitler, has publicly stated that Mexico wouldn’t pay for it, and tweeted after the meeting that he reiterated the same to Trump. Trump may be trying to hide behind the implication that a discussion mutual, but he is the candidate who’s supposed to tell it like it is. The controversy ended up overshadowing the trip.
Hillary Clinton spent Wednesday delivering a foreign policy address, in which she sought to turn eight years of GOP attacks against President Obama against Trump. Arguing that Trump didn’t believe in American exceptionalism, Clinton advocated for a stronger and involved U.S. on the global stage, accusing her rival of being a stooge of Russian President Vladimir Putin and attacking his isolationist foreign policy proposals. It comes as Clinton is seeking to somewhat reverse the party divide on foreign policy as she seeks to appeal to hawkish Republicans unsettled by Trump.
Some Trump Hispanic surrogates walk after his day of whiplash. How Trump’s visit played in Mexico. (Hint: not well.) And the new politics of gun control.