Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence on Wednesday described Donald Trump’s trip to Mexico later in the day as “the beginning of a conversation” and that it says a lot that Mr. Trump is willing to drop what he’s doing to take the meeting.
“I think it’s important to note that today is really the beginning of a conversation,” Mr. Pence said on CNN’s “New Day.” “Negotiations will follow this.”
“To know Donald Trump is to know not your standard-issue politician, but really a business leader that knows you first [have] got to sit down with people,” he said. “You got to look ’em in the eye, you got to tell ’em where you stand. They can express their positions, and that’s where real negotiations can begin.”
Mr. Pence said he gives Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto credit for extending an invitation to both Mr. Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
“I don’t know where Hillary Clinton is. I heard she’s going to Cincinnati today, but I think the American people can see quite a contrast between Donald Trump, who gets an invitation from a world leader, drops what he’s doing even with a major speech on the schedule for tonight,” Mr. Pence said.
The Clinton campaign said Mrs. Clinton looks forward to meeting with with Mr. Peña Nieto in the future.
“The secretary last met with President Peña Nieto in 2014 and she looks forward to doing so again in the future,” Lorella Praeli, the Clinton campaign’s Latino outreach director, said later on the program.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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