Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum rebuked U.S. nominee Donald Trump after he appeared to mock Marcelo Ebrard, a high-ranking official from the current government and who is set to be her Economy Minister once she takes office.
Trump's statements took place on Saturday during a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There, he recalled conversations he had with the López Obrador administration regarding immigration when he was president.
"We were very tough on Mexico when I was building the wall," he began. "I said, you have to give us 28,000 soldiers, and they laughed at me." Trump said that prompted him to threaten with imposing tariffs on Mexican goods entering the United States.
That, Trump said, prompted Mexico to make a U-turn. "The gentleman representing the president then said 'I would like to discuss this with the president," to which the Republican claimed he said: "You have five minutes because I have to go, I have something much more important to do."
"He came back and said, Mr. President, we would love to give you soldiers to protect your wall free of charge, of course," Trump said. "They gave us everything, I got everything from Mexico," he added. According to Bloomberg, some commentators also interpreted further comments from Trump about a "stupid" and "low IQ" person as directed at Ebrard, even though further remarks made it sound like he was talking about U.S. President Joe Biden.
The statements prompted a response from President-elect Sheinbaum, who took to X to defend Ebrard, whom she beat in the party's primaries and is set to be her future Economy Minister.
"I regret former President Trump's rude language and certainly disagree with his opinion of Marcelo Ebrard. To me, he is one of the best public servants in Mexico, and he will be a great Secretary of Economy of our country, which no one should forget is free and sovereign," she said. Ebrard, on his end, thanked Sheinbaum and said he will "defend Mexico's interests with dignity and strength."
The rift follows another episode concerning Trump and the Mexican government, as President López Obrador had said the day before that he was going to send a letter to his "friend" Trump as a result of his stance on immigration.
"I think he is not being properly informed about the migratory issue and also about the importance of maintaining economic integration among the U.S., Mexico and Canada," he said.
"When it comes to migration, I will prove to him that migrants are not smuggling drugs into the U.S. That is a vile lie. They go to work honorably. That country was built and became a superpower thanks to migrants around the world."
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