WaPo Publishes Leaked Transcripts Of President Trump’s Conversations With Foreign Leaders

The Washington Post has published leaked transcripts of President Trump’s conversations with foreign leaders. The conversation most people are talking about? Trump’s discussion with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. It occurred on Jan. 27. During the conversation, Trump asked Peña Nieto to refrain from saying that Mexico will not pay for the wall.

Here’s a chunk of what Trump said. Emphasis mine–

The only thing I will ask you though is on the wall, you and I both have a political problem. My people stand up and say, “Mexico will pay for the wall” and your people probably say something in a similar but slightly different language. But the fact is we are both in a little bit of a political bind because I have to have Mexico pay for the wall – I have to. I have been talking about it for a two year period, and the reason I say they are going to pay for the wall is because Mexico has made a fortune out of the stupidity of U.S. trade representatives. They are beating us at trade and they are beating us at the border, and they are killing us with drugs. Now I know you are not involved with that, but regardless of who is making all the money, billions and billions and billions – some people say more – is being made on drug trafficking that is coming through Mexico. Some people say that the business of drug trafficking is bigger than the business of taking our factory jobs. So what I would like to recommend is – if we are going to have continued dialogue – we will work out the wall. They are going to say, “who is going to pay for the wall, Mr. President?” to both of us, and we should both say, “we will work it out.” It will work out in the formula somehow. As opposed to you saying, “we will not pay” and me saying, “we will not pay.”

Trump was honest. He told Peña Nieto the same thing he told us. He literally said, “I have to have Mexico pay for the wall – I have to.”

He continued:

Because you and I are both at a point now where we are both saying we are not to pay for the wall. From a political standpoint, that is what we will say. We cannot say that anymore because if you are going to say that Mexico is not going to pay for the wall, then I do not want to meet with you guys anymore because I cannot live with that. I am willing to say that we will work it out, but that means it will come out in the wash and that is okay. But you cannot say anymore that the United States is going to pay for the wall. I am just going to say that we are working it out. Believe it or not, this is the least important thing that we are talking about, but politically this might be the most important talk about. But in terms of dollars – or pesos – it is the least important thing. I know how to build very inexpensively, so it will be much lower than these numbers I am being presented with, and it will be a better wall and it will look nice. And it will do the job.

I get what Trump is saying. If Peña Nieto continues to say Mexico won’t pay for the wall, it will crush the dialogue. Trump’s supporters will demand that Trump walk away and stick it to Mexico, but in reality, deals need to be made. It’s just easier if they say they’re working on it, politically speaking. It’s a subtle way to kick the can down the road. I know some people say this is evidence of selling out, but I don’t see it that way. He knows Mexico doesn’t want to pay for it, but he’s trying to strike a deal. This is all part of the dealmaking process. Never once did Trump say, “I lied to the American people. You guys so aren’t paying for the wall. Don’t worry about it!”

People are also really upset over another part of the conversation. At one point, the two were talking about Mexico sucking at knocking out the “pretty tough hombres,” and Trump referred to New Hampshire as a “drug-infested den.”

They are sending drugs to Chicago, Los Angeles, and to New York. Up in New Hampshire – I won New Hampshire because New Hampshire is a drug-infested den – is coming from the southern border. So we have a lot of problems with Mexico farther than the economic problem. We are becoming a drug-addicted nation and most the drugs are coming from Mexico or certainly from the southern border. But I will say this – you have that problem too. You have some pretty tough hombres in Mexico that you may need help with, and we are willing to help you with that big-league. But they have to be knocked out and you have not done a good job of knocking them out. We have a massive drug problem where kids are becoming addicted to drugs because drugs are being sold for less money than candy because there is so much of it. So we have to work together to knock that out. And I know this is a tough group of people, and maybe your military is afraid of them, but our military is not afraid of them, and we will help you with that 100 percent because it is out of control – totally out of control.

(For those wondering, I think Trump was referring to his win during the Republican primary– not the general election. He didn’t specify, but that’s what I’m assuming.)

According to Trump, this is the drug-infested den that we call New Hampshire

1st Clinton won this state

2nd drugs come here from Canada pic.twitter.com/PYbHxgQZlk

— Red T Raccoon (@RedTRaccoon) August 3, 2017

Dem NH Rep Kuster on Trump saying NH is a “drug-infested den.” She is “appalled” by Trump’s “ignorant and insulting comments” about NH

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) August 3, 2017

Listen. I have a ton of family living in New Hampshire (my parents are natives), and I live there a few months out of the year. It’s an absolutely beautiful state, and I would even consider retiring there one day. (LOL– a 24 year old talking about retirement. That’s rich.) But Trump’s absolutely right. I usually stick around the Keene area, but what once used to be a beautiful historic town has turned into a glorified drug infested homeless shelter. I’ve seen it. I’ve had family members affected by the drug epidemic. It’s everywhere. Walk down Main Street in downtown Keene, and I guarantee you’ll see at least three individuals who look like lifeless, walking skeletons. There are certain streets I won’t even walk down anymore, because they’ve been overrun with druggies. People are overdosing in gas station bathrooms. You can’t even walk your dog in Ashuelot Park without worrying about heroin needles getting stuck in their paws. One of my aunties– she’s worked in the medical field in that area for years– regularly listens to the local police scanner, and she said emergency services are constantly responding to overdose calls. It never stops. So yeah. Trump is absolutely right. That’s not offensive. It’s the truth.

ANYWAY, the Washington Post also published transcripts of Trump’s conversation with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Trump was more irritated during that phone call, as the two leaders went back and forth on some sort of refugee agreement.

We all know the Washington Post only published the leaked transcripts to cause trouble, but for the most part, I don’t think Trump has anything to worry about.

Update: For a great take on why these leaks are so problematic, check out David Frum’s piece in The Atlantic. He makes some great points.