President Donald Trump for years has insulted Mexicans with his promises to build a border wall to keep out migrants, criminals, drugs and, most recently, the coronavirus. But that's not stopping Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador from heading to the White House for his first face-to-face meeting with Trump on Wednesday.
López Obrador, a lifelong populist and face of Mexico's left, actually has a lot in common with Trump. They've built a relationship based on their respect for each other's nationalist, authoritarian tendencies and their ability to stay out of each other's way on domestic issues.
On Wednesday, their unlikely alliance will be on full display as they celebrate the July 1 launch of the new North American trade pact. The meeting gives López Obrador a chance to pitch Mexico as a stable environment for U.S. investment despite its struggling economy. And it gives Trump a chance to show he has Mexico's leader on his side going into his reelection bid even after all the insults and threats. Plus, he gets to remind his base of the concessions he's gained from López Obrador to stop asylum seekers from crossing the Mexican border into the U.S.
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