Donald Trump seemed to offer alternative facts on Wednesday about his call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and was swiftly rebutted by the leader herself, prompting mockery on social media.
In a post on Truth Social, the president-elect declared that Sheinbaum had “agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border.”
Shortly afterwards, Sheinbaum posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, about the conversation, saying, “we reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders, but to build bridges between governments and communities.”
Both leaders characterised the call as positive. The two spoke after Trump on Monday threatened to impose a 25% tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico as soon as he takes office. He also vowed a 10% tariff on goods from China.
Trump said the tariffs would remain in place until “such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”
The incident was somewhat reminiscent of Trump’s claim in 2016 that he would make Mexico pay for “100%” of a proposed wall at the US border. Peña Nieto, Mexico’s president at the time, declined. Mexico did not pay.
Social media users sarcastically celebrated Trump’s fictional victory.
“All it took was one call. Donny deals,” journalist Sam Stein posted on the platform.
Mike Nellis, a former aide to Vice President Kamala Harris, said “Trump thinks he convinced the President of Mexico to stop all migration across the border LOL.”
Olivia Troye, a former Trump White House official, offered a “translation” for the Republican’s words.
“Just had a conversation with the President of Mexico who didn’t allow me to bully her, which left me confused about my charm…she pointed out that this is very bad…very bad for me if I do these tariffs…” she posted on X.
Check out some of the reactions below.