In a surprise development, Donald Trump announced on Tuesday night that he would be visiting Mexico on Wednesday to meet with that country's President, just hours before Trump is set to give a much anticipated speech in Arizona to set out his plans to deal illegal immigration into the U.S.
The news of Trump's surprise visit to Mexico broke just as he took the stage in Everett, Washington for a campaign rally - but unlike most every appearance he has made in this election, Trump said almost nothing about immigration last night, never mentioning the wall that he so often says the Mexican government should pay for.
This was what Trump said on that over the weekend in Iowa:
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Trump has repeatedly said that he will get Mexico to pay for that border wall - we'll have to see what comes out of his visit on that subject, how he interacts with the Mexican leader, and how it plays with the Mexican people as well - like this note from a reporter in Mexico:
While Trump's tough talk on immigration is a crowd-pleaser at his events, it still is not with most Americans according to the polls.
For example, a July CBS/New York Times poll asked about building a wall along the border with Mexico - while Republicans favored it, Democrats and Independents did not:
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
And even during the 2016 primaries, Republicans were split on what to do.
But for the most vocal parts of the Republican Party, backing off on illegal immigration is unacceptable - just witness the attacks against Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio from the last year, as they were defined by many as completely unacceptable when compared to Trump.
As for Clinton, she was using social media to remind her supporters what she would do - starting with "a pathway to full and equal citizenship" for those now here illegally:
So - there are two things to watch today - Trump's visit to Mexico and how that plays, and then Trump's speech on immigration.
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