Former Mexican president: Trump will be ‘rejected by everybody here’

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox says Donald Trump will not be received well on his trip to Mexico.

{mosads}”I’m sure he’s going to be rejected by everybody here in Mexico,” Fox told CNN on Wednesday, hours before the Republican presidential nominee’s short-notice visit to Mexico City.

“We cannot accept this going on. And yes, it could be a desperate move. … To me, it is a desperate move on both sides.”

Fox insisted that Trump is “not welcome to Mexico.”

“We don’t like him,” he said. “We don’t want him.”

Fox said he doesn’t understand why the current Mexican president, Enrique Pena Nieto, offered Trump the opportunity to come to Mexico, dismissing it as nothing more than a “political stunt.” 

“I think President Pena is taking an enormous political risk by hosting Trump,” Fox said, adding that he thinks it’s a “big mistake” on the part of the Mexican president.

“I really apologize for our president taking this step forward,” Fox said.

Fox questioned how people can have confidence in a person like Trump, who changes his ideas “every day.”

“How can you believe him when we are hearing right now that he and his wife violated migration laws in the United States?” Fox said.

“How can he speak about trade war when he’s manufacturing all his products for his business outside of the United States? It’s absolutely incongruent, absolutely inconsistent.”

Fox called on Americans to think about the risk they are taking with Trump.

“I just cannot envision him sitting on that chair that was the chair of President Washington, President Jefferson, President Kennedy, President Reagan — all the great presidents that nation has had,” he said.

“This guy is not up to be a president.”

Trump responded to Fox’s interview with a tweet Wednesday, noting that Fox invited him to visit Mexico earlier this year.

Former President Vicente Fox, who is railing against my visit to Mexico today, also invited me when he apologized for using the “f bomb.”

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2016

Fox responded with a tweet of his own, saying he invited Trump to come to his country to apologize.

“Stop lying! Mexico is not yours to play with, show some respect,” he said.

@realDonaldTrump, I invited you to come and apologize to all Mexicans. Stop lying! Mexico is not yours to play with, show some respect.

— Vicente Fox Quesada (@VicenteFoxQue) August 31, 2016

Trump said Tuesday night that he will meet with Pena Nieto on Wednesday, just hours before he is scheduled to give a speech on immigration in Arizona.

The Mexican president invited Trump to visit to talk about campaign issues, and the effort was reportedly facilitated by the Trump campaign’s CEO, Steve Bannon.

Trump is expected in his speech Wednesday to give more details on his immigration position, which he has faced scrutiny for over the past few days after indicating he may be open to “softening” his positions.