Trump Calls Mexico ‘Number One Most Dangerous Country In The World’ And Re-Ups On Building Wall
U.S. President Donald Trump again tweeted his intention to build a wall along the Mexican border today and he produced another nasty tweet about America’s southern neighbor, this time stating that Mexico is “now rated the number one most dangerous country in the world.” But is it?
In a word: no.
Online sites that compile statistics and rank the world’s most dangerous countries do not appear to consider Mexico worthy of their lists, at least not any of the multiple lists this reporter examined.
At World Atlas Mexico isn’t on their list of our world’s 10 most dangerous countries. And in September, the World Economic Forum released a list of the 20 most dangerous countries and neither is Mexico on that list.
Both sites said that when compiling their lists, the criteria they used to find the level of danger included the amount of crime, the degree of political unrest and the economic instability present in a country.
Trump sent out three tweets about Mexico and the wall early Thursday in response to a discussion that took place at a meeting between White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Wednesday. Along with the insult, he re-uped his intention to build a wall and to have Mexico pay for it.
At the closed-door meeting, Kelly told those assembled that due to natural barriers, not all of America’s southern border with Mexico will need a wall and that Trump had to be told that. Democrats at the meeting made Kelly’s admission public.
Here are Trump’s Jan. 18 tweets, in order, on Mexico and the wall.
The Wall is the Wall, it has never changed or evolved from the first day I conceived of it. Parts will be, of necessity, see through and it was never intended to be built in areas where there is natural protection such as mountains, wastelands or tough rivers or water…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018
….The Wall will be paid for, directly or indirectly, or through longer term reimbursement, by Mexico, which has a ridiculous $71 billion dollar trade surplus with the U.S. The $20 billion dollar Wall is “peanuts” compared to what Mexico makes from the U.S. NAFTA is a bad joke!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018
We need the Wall for the safety and security of our country. We need the Wall to help stop the massive inflow of drugs from Mexico, now rated the number one most dangerous country in the world. If there is no Wall, there is no Deal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018
The former president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, a harsh critic of Trump, spoke with Canada’s CBC Thursday morning and responded in kind to Trump’s latest invective hurled at Mexico.
“It’s an absolute mess, the White House,” Fox said. “Nobody can plan ahead, nobody can think what’s coming.” Fox also said, as Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has, that his country will not pay to build a wall along their border with the United States.
It’s not the first time Donald Trump has said pejorative things about Mexico; among other insults stretching back years, he told a rally during the presidential campaign that Mexico is sending only their criminals, drug-dealers and rapists to America. Time Magazine has compiled a list of all the times Donald Trump has hurled abuse at Mexico.
The list is a lengthy one.
