WASHINGTON, June 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Democrats slammed Pres Donald Trump’s tactics of threatening punitive tariffs to extract concessions on immigration from Mexico, saying the US president was recklessly endangering ties to a major ally and trade partner.
“What the world is tired of, and what I am tired of, is a president who
consistently goes to war, verbal war, with our allies,” Senator Bernie
Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“We need a decent relationship with Mexico,” added Sanders, who is a
candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. “We should not be confronting them every other day.”
His comments came two days after the US and Mexico, following urgent talks in Washington, reached a deal to avert the five-percent tariffs Trump had threatened on all imports from Mexico.
The Mexican side, for its part, agreed to bolster security on its southern
border and expand its policy of taking back Central American migrants as the US processes their asylum claims.
Trump and his Republican supporters hailed the deal as a major
breakthrough, but the Democrats sharply criticized his frequent resort to
tariff threats and said many of the Mexican concessions were made months ago.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a sharply worded statement Saturday
saying Trump had “undermined America’s preeminent leadership role in the world” by threatening tariffs against Mexico.
“Threats and temper tantrums are no way to negotiate foreign policy,” she
said.
But Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary of Homeland Security, insisted
that results were what mattered.
“People can disagree with the tactics (but) Mexico came to the table with
real proposals,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We have an agreement that, if they implement, will be effective.”
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, speaking Saturday in the
border city of Tijuana, also credited the agreement, saying it meant “there
will not be an economic or financial crisis in Mexico.” — NNN-AGENCIES
