Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, right, shake hands with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto after their joint statement at the Los Pinos presidential residence in Mexico City. 
 
 Aug. 31, 2016 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, right, shake hands with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto after their joint statement at the Los Pinos presidential residence in Mexico City. Dario Lopez-Mills/AP 
 
 In his first formal international trip as the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump visited a country where he is broadly despised for his vilification of illegal immigrants. 
 
 In his first formal international trip as the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump visited a country where he is broadly despised for his vilification of illegal immigrants. 
 
 In his first formal international trip as the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump visited a country where he is broadly despised for his vilification of illegal immigrants. 
 
 Side by side, a lone Mexican flag behind them, the men stood, one of the most unlikely political pairs imaginable. 
 
 Donald Trump, the Republican nominee who has built his campaign around blaming Mexicans for the loss of American jobs and safety; and President Enrique Peña Nieto, the unpopular Mexican leader who stunned his country, and even members of his government, by extending an invitation to Trump for a visit. 
 
 In the end, neither man chose to fuel the cross-border shouting match that Trump’s campaign launched a year ago — a result that probably favored Trump. Many Mexicans had hoped their president would demand an apology or forcefully reject Trump’s plans to build a border wall (and make Mexico pay for it), deport millions and weaken trade ties between the neighbors. 
 
 [‘Hitler’ and a ‘false prophet’: A quick guide to what Mexicans think of Trump] 
 
 Instead, Peña Nieto played the role of professor-in-chief, listing economic statistics about the mutually beneficial U.S.-Mexico relationship, while a reserved, almost somber Trump announced that he had made a new “friend.” The Republican candidate still, however, got in some jabs about how they did not have a chance to discuss “who pays for the wall.” 
 
 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is slated to meet with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto as he tries to clarify his past comments about Mexico and immigration. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post) 
 
 Mexicans were outraged to learn that Trump had been invited to visit Mexico, and the news conference Wednesday struck many here as disappointing. After months of bearing the brunt of Trump’s attacks, Mexicans found Peña Nieto’s performance a letdown. 
 
 “He’s not going to convince anyone with his talk about building dialogue and bridges,” said Jose Antonio Crespo, a Mexico City political science professor. “If Trump wins, they’ll have to meet and work together, but for now, the annoyance and anger of the people about his speech prevails.” 
 
 “Trump benefited from this encounter,” he added. “The president failed, he lacked strength.” 
 
 Mexicans learned only the day before that Trump would be visiting. Even at the highest levels of government, Mexicans were baffled at what Peña Nieto had to gain by welcoming a man so widely reviled in this country. 
 
 [A new play about Donald Trump is a hit. In Mexico.] 
 
 In the best of times, Mexicans feel conflicted about their neighbors to the north. In Trump, many Mexicans see the embodiment of their worst fears: an overbearing and insulting American politician happy to tread all over his country’s poorer neighbor. The Mexican leader, struggling through the second half of a difficult six-year term, has himself compared Trump’s rhetoric to that of Adolf Hitler. 
 
 “It’s kind of a big question mark,” said one senior Mexican official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to be candid. “This is not a winning proposition having him here.” 
 
 After an hour behind closed doors at Los Pinos, the presidential palace, Trump and Peña Nieto emerged and took their places at adjacent podiums. Peña Nieto apparently sought to take the high road, discussing the importance of the relationship, while pledging to respect the electoral process of the United States. 
 
 He rattled off trade and job statistics: $500 billion in annual trade between the neighbors, some 6 million jobs in America that depend on Mexican exports. He said his job was to defend Mexicans — those at home and the millions in the United States — who are “honest and hardworking people.” 
 
 [For Mexicans, Trump’s bid is getting scarier] 
 
 “They are good people. They respect family. They respect community life, and they respect the law,” Peña Nieto said. “Mexicans deserve the respect of everyone.” 
 
 Trump responded that it was a “great, great honor to be invited to Mexico.” 
 
 He said he had “tremendous feelings” for Mexican Americans, not only friends, but his employees. While he listed familiar goals for the region — like ending illegal immigration and raising pay for workers — he did not blame Mexico as directly as he had in the past for problems in the United States. 
 
 When reporters shouted out questions about Trump’s proposed border wall, the Republican candidate said he had mentioned it to the Mexican leader. “We didn’t discuss payment of the wall. That will be for a later date.” But Peña Nieto’s spokesman said that during the talks, the Mexican leader rejected the wall. 
 
 [In Mexico, Donald Trump is more of a puppet than a politician] 
 
 The firmest Peña Nieto got in his public comments was when he mentioned that some of Trump’s comments hurt Mexicans — but then he quickly defended Trump. 
 
 “I was sure that his genuine interest is to build a relationship that lets us bring to our societies better conditions,” he said. 
 
 Eduardo Sanchez, the president’s spokesman, said that Peña Nieto had long intended to invite both American presidential nominees here, to get to know them and share “the importance that Mexico has for the U.S.” 
 
 The easy move, he said, would be for Mexico to refuse to speak to Trump. 
 
 “The calculus of Peña Nieto is not his popularity, it’s his responsibility,” Sanchez said. 
 
 But the decision to invite Trump was assailed by a wide range of Mexicans. 
 
 Sergio Sarmiento, a political commentator and radio host, said none of the callers to his show have supported the visit. 
 
 “There have been hundreds of calls from people, [all] negative,” he said. “This will not help Peña Nieto at all.” 
 
 Former president Vicente Fox, an outspoken Trump critic, told Milenio TV that Trump was not welcome and that “he has offended us, he has deceived us, he has discriminated against us.” 
 
 Peña Nieto, once seen as a reformer who opened up Mexico’s oil sector to foreign investment, took on long-standing monopolies and proposed ambitious changes to the education system, has lost much of the momentum he had on taking office in late 2012. A recent poll in Mexico’s Reforma newspaper put his approval rating at 23 percent, the lowest in the two decades that the newspaper has been tracking presidential popularity. 
 
 The oil reform has yet to take off amid low global prices for petroleum. Mexico’s homicide rate declined early in his term but has risen again, jumping 16 percent in the first five months of this year over the same period last year. 
 
 And the president has been beset by scandals. One involved a favored government contractor who bought houses on behalf of Peña Nieto’s wife, who is a former TV star, and finance minister. Forty-three students from the state of Guerrero disappeared in 2014, and huge protests erupted when information emerged suggesting that they were captured and killed with the help of police. 
 
 Recently, Mexico’s human rights commission reported that 22 of 42 suspected drug cartel members killed at a ranch in Michoacan last year were allegedly executed by police and not killed in a gunfight as police had claimed. That contributed to the ousting of the head of the federal police this week. 
 
 Peña Nieto’s Institutional Revolutionary Party struggled in the midterm elections in June, losing governorships it had long held. 
 
 Read more: 
 
 How Mexico is going to make Donald Trump pay 
 
 On the Mexico border, a surge of migrants ahead of a possible ‘Trump wall’ 
 
 Mexico’s foreign minister: Anti-Mexican bigotry is no different than anti-Semitism 
 
 Mexicans celebrate holiday by burning Trump in effigy 
 
 Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world ||||| A demonstrator protesting Donald Trump's meeting with the Mexican president holds up a book jacket with the title; "Stop Trump!" during a morning protest at the Angel of Independence Monument that drew... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. presidential campaign (all times EDT): 
 
 10:10 p.m. 
 
 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says he will order the immediate detention of all known immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have been arrested for crimes. 
 
 He says on the first day in office he will "issue detainers for illegal immigrants who are arrested" and initiate immediate proceedings to remove them. 
 
 For people caught crossing the border illegally, Trump referenced the 1950s-era "Operation Wetback." He said that "we will take them great distances" instead of sending them just across the U.S. border. 
 
 Trump said, "We will take them to the country where they came from." 
 
 He said his administration will take a hard line on criminal aliens. He said the U.S. will be "moving them out on Day One." 
 
 To thunderous applause, Trump continues that he will seek legislation to block federal funding for so-called sanctuary cities that shelter immigrants in the country illegally. 
 
 ___ 
 
 10:00 p.m. 
 
 Donald Trump continues to insist that Mexico will pay for the wall he wants to build along the length of the southern border. 
 
 Trump says during a speech on immigration that Mexico will pay for the wall, "100 percent." 
 
 He says, "They don't know it yet, but they're going to pay for" it. 
 
 Trump met with Mexico's president earlier Wednesday and said they did not discuss who would pay for the massive wall that has been at the center of Trump's campaign. 
 
 But President Enrique Peña Nieto said he reiterated to Trump that Mexico would not be paying for the wall. 
 
 ___ 
 
 9:55 p.m. 
 
 Donald Trump says the nation's immigration policy must focus on what is best for American citizens, not those living in the country illegally. 
 
 He says, "There is only one core issue in the immigration debate and that issue is the well-being of the American people." 
 
 Still he says that he intends to treat "everyone living or residing" in the country with "great dignity." 
 
 Trump is also accusing President Barack Obama and his rival Hillary Clinton of engaging in a "gross dereliction of duty" for supporting more liberal immigration policies. 
 
 He says that Clinton talks about the families that would be separated if people in the country illegally were deported, but she doesn't talk about families impacted negatively by illegal immigration. 
 
 Just days ago, Trump was praising the number of people deported under the Obama administration. 
 
 ___ 
 
 9:50 p.m. 
 
 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is opening his long-awaited immigration policy speech by detailing the stories of illegal immigrants who committed violent crimes. 
 
 Trump is telling thousands in the convention center in downtown Phoenix that he has "met with many of the great parents who lost their children to sanctuary cities and open borders." 
 
 He talked about beatings and stabbings of young women, then said simply, "It's not going to happen anymore." 
 
 Before Trump took the stage, families of such victims addressed the audience, describing how their children or loved ones were killed and thanking Trump for his promise to enforce the U.S.-Mexican border. 
 
 Trump is emphasizing illegal immigrants accused of crimes, an issue of far less controversy than what to do with the millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have not been accused of crimes. 
 
 ___ 
 
 9:40 p.m. 
 
 Donald Trump says that he had a "thoughtful and substantive" conversation with Mexico's president on Wednesday as he kicks off a long-awaited speech on immigration. 
 
 Trump says his surprise meeting with Enrique Peña Nieto included a discussion of stopping the flow of illegal drugs across the southern border, and a shared goal to put drug cartels out of business. 
 
 Trump launched his campaign with a speech that accused Mexico of sending its rapists and criminals across the border. 
 
 But Trump is striking a different tone Wednesday, saying that, if the countries work together, "we're all going to win." 
 
 ___ 
 
 7:05 p.m. 
 
 The president of Mexico says Donald Trump wasn't telling the truth when he described their Wednesday conversation. 
 
 Specifically, President Enrique Peña Nieto said that he and Trump did indeed discuss who would pay for construction of a massive wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. That's the centerpiece of Trump's immigration plan. 
 
 Trump and Peña Nieto met privately in Mexico City on Wednesday afternoon. 
 
 When they emerged from the meeting, Trump told reporters they discussed the wall, but not paying for it. 
 
 Hours later, Peña Nieto tweeted his version: "At the beginning of the conversation with Donald Trump, I made clear that Mexico would not pay for the wall." 
 
 The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 
 
 ___ 
 
 6:50 p.m. 
 
 Donald Trump "choked" in Mexico. 
 
 That's according to Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, who says the Republican presidential nominee "doesn't have the courage to advocate for his campaign promises when he's not in front of a friendly crowd." 
 
 Trump defended his plan to build a wall on the United States' southern border during his Wednesday visit with the president of Mexico. But the New York businessman did not push his oft-mentioned promise to force Mexico to pay for the wall. 
 
 Podesta says "Trump choked" in what was his first opportunity to make good on "his offensive campaign promises." 
 
 ___ 
 
 4:55 p.m. 
 
 Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto says the Mexican people have been hurt by Donald Trump's past comments that painted them in a negative light. 
 
 Peña Nieto told reporters following a closed-door meeting that "misinterpretation or assertions" had negatively impacted perceptions of Trump's candidacy. 
 
 He added that, the "Mexican people have been hurt by the comments that had been made." But he said he's sure that Trump is genuinely interested in building a relationship that will benefit both countries. 
 
 Peña Nieto spoke in Spanish throughout. 
 
 ___ 
 
 4:40 p.m. 
 
 After meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, Republican nominee Donald Trump says that both countries must respect the others' right to build a border wall on their soil to stop the movement of people, illegal drugs and weapons. 
 
 Trump says he and PeñaNieto discussed his call for a border wall during their meeting, but did not talk about Trump's insistence that Mexico pay for it. He says, "that'll be for a later date." 
 
 Trump says that having a secure border is a sovereign right and mutually beneficial. Mexicans have been outraged by the proposal. 
 
 ___ 
 
 4:35 p.m. 
 
 Republican Donald Trump is calling his surprise visit to Mexico City Wednesday a 'great honor.' And he says the nations share a common interest in keeping the hemisphere safe and prosperous. 
 
 The Republican presidential nominee said after meeting with President Enrique Peña Nieto that the pair had a substantive, direct and constructive exchange of ideas at the president's official residence in Mexico City. 
 
 This is Trump's first foreign visit as his party's nominee. 
 
 ___ 
 
 4:30 p.m. 
 
 Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto is challenging Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's characterization of the situation on the U.S.-Mexican border. 
 
 Peña Nieto notes that the number of immigrants crossing the border illegally is down significantly "even to the point of being negative to a net effect." He spoke at a joint appearance Wednesday at the president's official residence. 
 
 While Peña Nieto says the countries have shared challenges, he says that there exists "an incomplete vision of the border issues," with weapons and cash flowing south from the U.S. and fueling violence. 
 
 He's also stressing U.S. exports to Mexico and the number of jobs reliant on the countries' trade relationship. 
 
 He says the Mexican people are people of "good will" who "deserve everybody's respect." 
 
 ___ 
 
 4:20 p.m. 
 
 Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto says that he and Donald Trump may not agree on everything, but that their meeting underscores their countries' shared interests. 
 
 Peña Nieto tells reporters that their meeting with the Republican nominee at the president's official residence in Mexico City was "open and constructive." 
 
 He says in Spanish that the next president "will find in Mexico and its government" a neighbor who "wants to work constructively to strengthen even more" the relationship between their nations. 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:55 p.m. 
 
 An official at the Mexico City international airport says a private plane carrying Republican candidate Donald Trump has touched down at the airport. 
 
 The official was not authorized to be quoted by name, nor did he provide the plane's registry number, or say how Trump would reach the official residence of President Enrique Pena Nieto, where the meeting with the Mexican leader is to take place. 
 
 Pena Nieto's office has confirmed there will be a meeting and subsequent press statement at the residence, which is across town from the airport. 
 
 Trump appeared likely to fly to the residence by helicopter, rather than cross town in any kind of motorcade. 
 
 —By E. Eduardo Castillo in Mexico City 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:45 p.m. 
 
 Hillary Clinton says if elected president she will make clear that the U.S. "will treat cyberattacks just like any other attack." 
 
 Clinton says in a speech Wednesday to the American Legion convention in Cincinnati that the U.S. needs to "step up our game" and be able to defend itself against those who "go after us." 
 
 She blamed Russia for hacking into the Democratic National Committee and perhaps "even some state election systems." 
 
 Clinton says the United States will be ready with "serious political, economic and military responses" to any cyberattacks. 
 
 WikiLeaks released damaging emails during the Democratic National Convention that implied the DNC had favored Clinton over primary rival Bernie Sanders. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:10 p.m. 
 
 Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine says Donald Trump has "put his feet in concrete" on his immigration positions, regardless of what the Republican nominee says in an immigration-focused speech Wednesday night. 
 
 Kaine is visiting a Hispanic community center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, hours before Trump is set to speak and about his immigration plans. Trump's speech is being closely watched to see if he softens proposals to deport millions of people living in the United States illegally. 
 
 Kaine says Trump's words and actions have been "frightening" to Hispanics and he doesn't expect to hear a change in tone. And he says its "hard to say" what to expect out of Trump's meeting Wednesday with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:05 p.m. 
 
 Hillary Clinton is blasting Donald Trump for referring to the American military as "a disaster." 
 
 Clinton says in a sharply worded speech Wednesday to the American Legion convention that it's "an insult to the men and women serving today and all who have served before." 
 
 The Democratic presidential nominee is reiterating that she would send American troops into harm's way only as a "last resort," calling it a bedrock principal. 
 
 She also says the last thing the nation needs is a president "who brings more name-calling and temper tantrums to Washington," a reference to her Republican opponent. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1 p.m. 
 
 Hillary Clinton is tweaking rival Donald Trump's decision to travel to Mexico, saying it takes more to make up for a "year of insults and insinuations" than a quick trip to America's southern neighbor. 
 
 Clinton says at the American Legion's annual convention in Ohio that voters need to know that they can count on you. She says "it certainly takes more than trying to make up for a year of insults and insinuations by dropping in on our neighbors for a few hours and then flying home again." 
 
 The Democratic presidential nominee adds, "That is not how it works." 
 
 Trump was meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto later Wednesday. Trump's surprise visit was coming hours before a major address on immigration in Arizona. 
 
 ___ 
 
 12:55 p.m. 
 
 Hillary Clinton says the United States in "an exceptional nation" and is accusing rival Donald Trump of thinking that approach is "insulting to the rest of the world." 
 
 Clinton is speaking to the American Legion's annual convention in Cincinnati. She says the U.S. is an indispensable nation and has a "unique and unparalleled ability to be a force for peace and progress." 
 
 Referencing Trump's threats to "walk away from our alliances," she notes that when America fails to lead, the country leaves a vacuum for the rest of the world to fill. 
 
 ___ 
 
 11:25 a.m. 
 
 Just days after Hillary Clinton criticized the Trump campaign for promoting groups and individuals associated with preserving "white identity," Donald Trump Jr. has retweeted an adherent of the "alt-right" movement that Clinton singled out for criticism. 
 
 Donald Trump's oldest son this week retweeted a post from Kevin MacDonald, a former professor at California State University Long Beach. MacDonald said last week that white people in America are becoming a victimized minority. He has been accused of anti-Semitism by critics, including the Southern Poverty Law Center. 
 
 MacDonald's tweet had to do with Clinton's State Department and perceived favoritism for UBS, a global financial services company that donated to the Clinton Foundation. 
 
 Trump Jr.'s retweet prompted Richard Spencer, a leader of the alt-right movement, to tweet "Wow. Just wow." 
 
 ___ 
 
 9:50 a.m. 
 
 Mike Pence says that Donald Trump's trip to Mexico demonstrates what a "decisive leader" he would be if elected president. 
 
 Trump's running mate told Fox News Wednesday that Trump immediately responded to an invitation by Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto to meet. He noted that Hillary Clinton received the same invitation but hasn't responded yet. 
 
 Pence said that Trump and Pena Nieto are expected to discuss the logistics of Trump's proposed border wall — something Trump insists Mexico will pay for, despite Pena Nieto's condemnation of the plan. 
 
 ___ 
 
 9:35 a.m. 
 
 At least two demonstrations are planned in Mexico City as Mexicans express anger about the visit of Donald Trump. 
 
 Former first lady Margarita Zavala wrote in a tweet aimed at Trump: "Even though you may have been invited, we want you to know you're not welcome. We Mexicans have dignity, and we reject your hate speech." She's considered a potential presidential candidate for 2018. 
 
 Pena Nieto's office hasn't said where or when the meeting would be held, possibly in a bid to avoid protests outside the meeting site. 
 
 Leading historian Enrique Krauze also addressed Trump in a tweek, saying "We Mexicans expect nothing less than an apology for calling us "criminals and rapists". 
 
 Krauze told the Televisa TV network that, "Tyrants are to be confronted, not pacified." 
 
 ___ 
 
 8:30 a.m. 
 
 Mexico has awakened to the news that President Enrique Pena Nieto is going to meet with Republican candidate Donald Trump Wednesday, and many Mexicans don't like it. 
 
 Some analysts said the Republican nominee had left Pena Nieto flat-footed by accepting an invitation the Mexican president had made simply for appearances' sake. Trump is widely loathed in Mexico for calling migrants from the country "rapists" among other insults. 
 
 Mexico City-based security analyst Alejandro Hope suggested that Pena Nieto "wanted to invite Hillary (Clinton), but that meant inviting both of them, and nobody thought Trump would accept first." 
 
 He added: "What's in it for Mexico? " 
 
 The newspaper El Universal wrote in an editorial that Trump "caught Mexican diplomats off guard" by accepting the invitation. 
 
 ___ 
 
 3:10 a.m. 
 
 Donald Trump will be taking his first foreign trip as the Republican presidential nominee on Wednesday, making a quick visit to Mexico, a nation he derided as the home of rapists and criminals as he launched his campaign. 
 
 The meeting with President Enrique Pena Nieto, who earlier this year compared the billionaire candidate to Hitler, comes hours before Trump is set to deliver a highly-anticipated immigration speech. It's a defining issue for Trump, but one on which he has appeared to waiver. 
 
 After saying during his primary campaign he would expel all of the estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally with a "deportation force," Trump has suggested recently he might be open to "softening" his stance as he tries to win over more moderate general election voters. ||||| A demonstrator protesting Donald Trump's meeting with the Mexican president holds up a book jacket with the title; "Stop Trump!" during a morning protest at the Angel of Independence Monument that drew... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. presidential campaign (all times EDT): 
 
 4:55 p.m. 
 
 Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto says the Mexican people have been hurt by Donald Trump's past comments that painted them in a negative light. 
 
 Peña Nieto told reporters following a closed-door meeting that "misinterpretation or assertions" had negatively impacted perceptions of Trump's candidacy. 
 
 He added that, the "Mexican people have been hurt by the comments that had been made." But he said he's sure that Trump is genuinely interested in building a relationship that will benefit both countries. 
 
 Peña Nieto spoke in Spanish throughout. 
 
 ___ 
 
 4:40 p.m. 
 
 After meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, Republican nominee Donald Trump says that both countries must respect the others' right to build a border wall on their soil to stop the movement of people, illegal drugs and weapons. 
 
 Trump says he and PeñaNieto discussed his call for a border wall during their meeting, but did not talk about Trump's insistence that Mexico pay for it. He says, "that'll be for a later date." 
 
 Trump says that having a secure border is a sovereign right and mutually beneficial. Mexicans have been outraged by the proposal. 
 
 ___ 
 
 4:35 p.m. 
 
 Republican Donald Trump is calling his surprise visit to Mexico City Wednesday a 'great honor.' And he says the nations share a common interest in keeping the hemisphere safe and prosperous. 
 
 The Republican presidential nominee said after meeting with President Enrique Peña Nieto that the pair had a substantive, direct and constructive exchange of ideas at the president's official residence in Mexico City. 
 
 This is Trump's first foreign visit as his party's nominee. 
 
 ___ 
 
 4:30 p.m. 
 
 Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto is challenging Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's characterization of the situation on the U.S.-Mexican border. 
 
 Peña Nieto notes that the number of immigrants crossing the border illegally is down significantly "even to the point of being negative to a net effect." He spoke at a joint appearance Wednesday at the president's official residence. 
 
 While Peña Nieto says the countries have shared challenges, he says that there exists "an incomplete vision of the border issues," with weapons and cash flowing south from the U.S. and fueling violence. 
 
 He's also stressing U.S. exports to Mexico and the number of jobs reliant on the countries' trade relationship. 
 
 He says the Mexican people are people of "good will" who "deserve everybody's respect." 
 
 ___ 
 
 4:20 p.m. 
 
 Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto says that he and Donald Trump may not agree on everything, but that their meeting underscores their countries' shared interests. 
 
 Peña Nieto tells reporters that their meeting with the Republican nominee at the president's official residence in Mexico City was "open and constructive." 
 
 He says in Spanish that the next president "will find in Mexico and its government" a neighbor who "wants to work constructively to strengthen even more" the relationship between their nations. 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:55 p.m. 
 
 An official at the Mexico City international airport says a private plane carrying Republican candidate Donald Trump has touched down at the airport. 
 
 The official was not authorized to be quoted by name, nor did he provide the plane's registry number, or say how Trump would reach the official residence of President Enrique Pena Nieto, where the meeting with the Mexican leader is to take place. 
 
 Pena Nieto's office has confirmed there will be a meeting and subsequent press statement at the residence, which is across town from the airport. 
 
 Trump appeared likely to fly to the residence by helicopter, rather than cross town in any kind of motorcade. 
 
 —By E. Eduardo Castillo in Mexico City 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:45 p.m. 
 
 Hillary Clinton says if elected president she will make clear that the U.S. "will treat cyberattacks just like any other attack." 
 
 Clinton says in a speech Wednesday to the American Legion convention in Cincinnati that the U.S. needs to "step up our game" and be able to defend itself against those who "go after us." 
 
 She blamed Russia for hacking into the Democratic National Committee and perhaps "even some state election systems." 
 
 Clinton says the United States will be ready with "serious political, economic and military responses" to any cyberattacks. 
 
 WikiLeaks released damaging emails during the Democratic National Convention that implied the DNC had favored Clinton over primary rival Bernie Sanders. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:10 p.m. 
 
 Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine says Donald Trump has "put his feet in concrete" on his immigration positions, regardless of what the Republican nominee says in an immigration-focused speech Wednesday night. 
 
 Kaine is visiting a Hispanic community center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, hours before Trump is set to speak and about his immigration plans. Trump's speech is being closely watched to see if he softens proposals to deport millions of people living in the United States illegally. 
 
 Kaine says Trump's words and actions have been "frightening" to Hispanics and he doesn't expect to hear a change in tone. And he says its "hard to say" what to expect out of Trump's meeting Wednesday with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:05 p.m. 
 
 Hillary Clinton is blasting Donald Trump for referring to the American military as "a disaster." 
 
 Clinton says in a sharply worded speech Wednesday to the American Legion convention that it's "an insult to the men and women serving today and all who have served before." 
 
 The Democratic presidential nominee is reiterating that she would send American troops into harm's way only as a "last resort," calling it a bedrock principal. 
 
 She also says the last thing the nation needs is a president "who brings more name-calling and temper tantrums to Washington," a reference to her Republican opponent. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1 p.m. 
 
 Hillary Clinton is tweaking rival Donald Trump's decision to travel to Mexico, saying it takes more to make up for a "year of insults and insinuations" than a quick trip to America's southern neighbor. 
 
 Clinton says at the American Legion's annual convention in Ohio that voters need to know that they can count on you. She says "it certainly takes more than trying to make up for a year of insults and insinuations by dropping in on our neighbors for a few hours and then flying home again." 
 
 The Democratic presidential nominee adds, "That is not how it works." 
 
 Trump was meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto later Wednesday. Trump's surprise visit was coming hours before a major address on immigration in Arizona. 
 
 ___ 
 
 12:55 p.m. 
 
 Hillary Clinton says the United States in "an exceptional nation" and is accusing rival Donald Trump of thinking that approach is "insulting to the rest of the world." 
 
 Clinton is speaking to the American Legion's annual convention in Cincinnati. She says the U.S. is an indispensable nation and has a "unique and unparalleled ability to be a force for peace and progress." 
 
 Referencing Trump's threats to "walk away from our alliances," she notes that when America fails to lead, the country leaves a vacuum for the rest of the world to fill. 
 
 ___ 
 
 11:25 a.m. 
 
 Just days after Hillary Clinton criticized the Trump campaign for promoting groups and individuals associated with preserving "white identity," Donald Trump Jr. has retweeted an adherent of the "alt-right" movement that Clinton singled out for criticism. 
 
 Donald Trump's oldest son this week retweeted a post from Kevin MacDonald, a former professor at California State University Long Beach. MacDonald said last week that white people in America are becoming a victimized minority. He has been accused of anti-Semitism by critics, including the Southern Poverty Law Center. 
 
 MacDonald's tweet had to do with Clinton's State Department and perceived favoritism for UBS, a global financial services company that donated to the Clinton Foundation. 
 
 Trump Jr.'s retweet prompted Richard Spencer, a leader of the alt-right movement, to tweet "Wow. Just wow." 
 
 ___ 
 
 9:50 a.m. 
 
 Mike Pence says that Donald Trump's trip to Mexico demonstrates what a "decisive leader" he would be if elected president. 
 
 Trump's running mate told Fox News Wednesday that Trump immediately responded to an invitation by Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto to meet. He noted that Hillary Clinton received the same invitation but hasn't responded yet. 
 
 Pence said that Trump and Pena Nieto are expected to discuss the logistics of Trump's proposed border wall — something Trump insists Mexico will pay for, despite Pena Nieto's condemnation of the plan. 
 
 ___ 
 
 9:35 a.m. 
 
 At least two demonstrations are planned in Mexico City as Mexicans express anger about the visit of Donald Trump. 
 
 Former first lady Margarita Zavala wrote in a tweet aimed at Trump: "Even though you may have been invited, we want you to know you're not welcome. We Mexicans have dignity, and we reject your hate speech." She's considered a potential presidential candidate for 2018. 
 
 Pena Nieto's office hasn't said where or when the meeting would be held, possibly in a bid to avoid protests outside the meeting site. 
 
 Leading historian Enrique Krauze also addressed Trump in a tweek, saying "We Mexicans expect nothing less than an apology for calling us "criminals and rapists". 
 
 Krauze told the Televisa TV network that, "Tyrants are to be confronted, not pacified." 
 
 ___ 
 
 8:30 a.m. 
 
 Mexico has awakened to the news that President Enrique Pena Nieto is going to meet with Republican candidate Donald Trump Wednesday, and many Mexicans don't like it. 
 
 Some analysts said the Republican nominee had left Pena Nieto flat-footed by accepting an invitation the Mexican president had made simply for appearances' sake. Trump is widely loathed in Mexico for calling migrants from the country "rapists" among other insults. 
 
 Mexico City-based security analyst Alejandro Hope suggested that Pena Nieto "wanted to invite Hillary (Clinton), but that meant inviting both of them, and nobody thought Trump would accept first." 
 
 He added: "What's in it for Mexico? " 
 
 The newspaper El Universal wrote in an editorial that Trump "caught Mexican diplomats off guard" by accepting the invitation. 
 
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 3:10 a.m. 
 
 Donald Trump will be taking his first foreign trip as the Republican presidential nominee on Wednesday, making a quick visit to Mexico, a nation he derided as the home of rapists and criminals as he launched his campaign. 
 
 The meeting with President Enrique Pena Nieto, who earlier this year compared the billionaire candidate to Hitler, comes hours before Trump is set to deliver a highly-anticipated immigration speech. It's a defining issue for Trump, but one on which he has appeared to waiver. 
 
 After saying during his primary campaign he would expel all of the estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally with a "deportation force," Trump has suggested recently he might be open to "softening" his stance as he tries to win over more moderate general election voters. ||||| Washington (CNN) Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Thursday canceled a meeting with US President Donald Trump that had been set for next week after renewed tensions erupted over Trump's plan to build a wall on the border. 
 
 "This morning we have informed the White House that I will not attend the meeting scheduled for next Tuesday with the POTUS," Peña Nieto tweeted. 
 
 Earlier Thursday morning, Trump had tweeted that it would be better to skip the meeting if Peña Nieto continued to insist Mexico would not pay for the wall -- something the Mexican leader had said as recently as Wednesday evening. 
 
 "If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting," Trump tweeted and in an earlier tweet he noted the US's trade deficit with Mexico and what he said were the American job losses caused by NAFTA. 
 
 The U.S. has a 60 billion dollar trade deficit with Mexico. It has been a one-sided deal from the beginning of NAFTA with massive numbers... 
 
 of jobs and companies lost. If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting. 
 
 Trump spoke about the cancellation during remarks at a gathering of congressional Republicans in Philadelphia. 
 
 Trump said that he and the Mexican president had mutually agreed to scrap their planned get together, and he repeated his position that the US won't fund the wall. 
 
 "Unless Mexico will treat the US fairly, with respect, such a meeting is fruitless, and I want to go a different route," Trump told House and Senate GOP lawmakers. "I have no choice." 
 
 "Border security is a serious, serious issue and a national problem," Trump said. "Most illegal immigration is coming from our Southern border." 
 
 On Wednesday night, Peña Nieto had said at that time he did not see a need to scrap the get together -- but he strongly reiterated that his country wouldn't fund any border wall, which Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday would cost $12-$15 billion 
 
 "President Trump's insistence that Mexico will pay for the wall has once again just been proven as delusional fiction by the Mexican President," said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. "The wall is a multi-billion dollar boondoggle in the making, and Republicans should be embarrassed about their brazen hypocrisy in enabling it." 
 
 "Mexico does not believe in walls. I've said time again; Mexico will not pay for any wall," the Mexican president said in a video statement posted to Twitter and translated by CNN from Spanish. 
 
 The back-and-forth between the two leaders began last year during the first days of the Trump campaign when he called some Mexicans entering the US criminals and rapists and tensions lingered throughout the 2016 contest. They escalated sharply over the last 24 hours when Trump took executive action on Wednesday to begin the process of erecting a wall. 
 
 The President announced that move while a high-level Mexican delegation was visiting the White House -- the first foreign representatives to come since Trump took office -- for meetings with top officials, including Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and adviser Jared Kushner. 
 
 One member of the delegation, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray, who had led talks between his government and the Trump transition team, was in his car on his way to meetings at the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday when he suddenly decided he would not attend. 
 
 "We will work to schedule a future meeting and will continue to keep the lines of communication and partnership open," said DHS Spokeswoman Gillian Christensen. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Trump signs executive actions on border wall Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Trump signs executive actions on border wall 02:40 
 
 In his video address, Peña Nieto also said he had ordered government agencies to step up protection for immigrants. 
 
 "I've asked for the minister of Foreign Relations to re-enforce protection measures to our citizens," he said. He added that the 50 Mexican consulates in the US will be used to defend the rights of immigrants in the country and issued a call to action to legislators and civic organizations to help immigrants. 
 
 Peña Nieto closed his message by saying Mexico offers and expects respect. "Mexico offers its friendship to the people of the United States and expresses its wish to arrive at agreements with its government, deals that will be in favor of Mexico and the Mexicans," he said. 
 
 Earlier Wednesday, Trump signed two executive orders directing construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border, boosting border patrol forces, and increasing the number of immigration enforcement officers who carry out deportations. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Mexican officials who arrived Wednesday had been expected to lay the groundwork for Peña Nieto's visit next week, which Mexican diplomats had seen as an important opportunity to try to move past the anti-Mexico rhetoric Trump used during the campaign and a chance to put the relationship back on track. 
 
 "There is ... frustration with our government and ourselves that we have not been able to tell the story of this important relationship," a Mexican diplomat told CNN ahead of the delegation's visit. "There are a lot of stereotypes of Mexicans in the US, but there are also stereotypes of Americans in Mexico. It is in the interest of both governments to explain what this relationship is and what we can do together." 
 
 In a Monday speech, Peña Nieto said his government is prepared to negotiate with the US if Mexico's national sovereignty is respected. He laid out economic integration and respect for the rights of migrants and the money they send home as his nation's key negotiating points. 
 
 "Neither confrontation nor submission. Dialogue is the solution," Peña Nieto said. 
 
 Trump has suggested some of the $25 billion in annual remittances that migrants return home would be retained to pay for the border wall. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Trump: Mexico to reimburse US for wall Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Trump: Mexico to reimburse US for wall 02:54 
 
 Trump flew to Mexico City during his campaign to meet Peña Nieto and said they discussed a wall Trump has vowed to build on the US southern border, but not his demand that Mexico pay for it -- an assertion the Mexican president later disputed. 
 
 "At the start of the conversation with Donald Trump, I made it clear that Mexico will not pay for the wall," Peña Nieto tweeted, after their meeting, which was widely viewed as a public relations disaster for Peña Nieto. ||||| Republican presidential candidate – who wants to build a border wall – will meet Enrique Peña Nieto on Wednesday ahead of major immigration speech 
 
 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has confirmed that he will travel to Mexico on Wednesday to meet President Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico City. 
 
 Moments before taking the stage for a rally in Everett, Washington, just north of Seattle, Trump tweeted that he had “accepted the invitation of President Enrique Peña Nieto, of Mexico, and look[ed] very much forward to meeting him tomorrow”. 
 
 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) I have accepted the invitation of President Enrique Pena Nieto, of Mexico, and look very much forward to meeting him tomorrow. 
 
 The meeting will happen hours before Trump is scheduled to deliver a major address on immigration in Phoenix, Arizona, in which he will aim to clarify his increasingly murky stance on the issue. 
 
 It was confirmed by the official Twitter account for the Mexican presidency, which said: 
 
 Presidencia México (@PresidenciaMX) El Señor @realDonaldTrump ha aceptado esta invitación y se reunirá mañana en privado con el Presidente @EPN. 
 
 Translated, the tweet says that Trump “has accepted the invitation and will meet privately tomorrow with the president”. 
 
 Peña Nieto – who has previously compared Trump to Hitler and Mussolini – said via Twitter that he had invited both presidential candidates to Mexico “to discuss bilateral relations”, adding: “I believe in dialogue to promote the interests of Mexico in the world and to protect Mexicans wherever they are.” 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto said he had invited Trump, despite having previously compared him to Hitler. Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP 
 
 The Trump campaign did not respond to repeated requests for comment. However, Josh Green, a reporter for Bloomberg News, said Trump would be accompanied on the trip by former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and Alabama senator Jeff Sessions. 
 
 Trump surrogates: Republican's position on immigration has not changed Read more 
 
 Trump, who launched his campaign in 2015 with the announcement that Mexico was “bringing their worst people”, including “rapists”, to the US, had been scheduled to appear at fundraisers in California on Wednesday morning, before delivering his immigration address in Phoenix at 6pm local time (9pm ET). 
 
 The trip to Mexico City to meet Peña Nieto – who has previously invited Trump to debate him in Mexico – will likely occur sometime in the middle of the day. 
 
 The proposal was first broached with the US embassy in Mexico City earlier this week, a fast-tracking of an international visit by an American presidential candidate that is typically planned over the course of weeks. 
 
 In recent days, Trump has been increasingly vague on his position about the legal status of the 11 million illegal immigrants currently in the US. During the Republican primary, Trump appealed to the conservative base by calling for a “deportation force” to remove all undocumented immigrants from the country. 
 
 However, on a recent trip to Iowa, Trump said the policy issue was driven by the media. “In recent days, the media – as it usually does – has missed the whole point on immigration. All the media wants to talk about is the 11 million or more people here illegally,” he said at a fundraiser for Republican senator Joni Ernst. 
 
 In front of a crowd in Everett on Tuesday evening, Trump made no mention of his upcoming diplomatic mission, focusing instead on campaign speech favorites, including a rambling story in rhyming couplets about an ungrateful and poisonous snake, intended as an allegory about Muslim refugees to the US. 
 
 Also notably absent from the speech was perhaps Trump’s most essential motif: the wall he proposes to build along the US-Mexico border. 
 
 Trump’s approval ratings among Latino voters are historically bad, and his relationship with Peña Nieto’s government is even worse. Trump has long pledged to force Mexico to pay for the proposed 2,000-mile (3,220km) border wall, a suggestion the Mexican president responded to coldly. 
 
 
 
 “No way,” Peña Nieto told CNN earlier this year. 
 
 Peña Nieto has fallen on hard political times in recent months. The latest polls put his approval rating at just 23%, according to Mexico News Daily, as the president has been hit by personal scandals, as well as allegations of human rights abuses by police officers. Protests by teachers opposed to his educational reforms have led to widespread unrest and several deaths. 
 
 It is hard to see how inviting Trump to meet him would help Peña Nieto domestically, as Trump is, unsurprisingly, considerably less popular in Mexico than the president. In March, city legislators passed a non-legally binding bill to ban Trump from Mexico’s capital. 
 
 Peña Nieto’s predecessor, former president Vicente Fox, has been considerably more vocal in speaking out against the Republican nominee, calling Trump’s ideas “racist” and saying “I declare: I’m not going to pay for that fucking wall.” 
 
 Trump reveals plan to finance Mexico border wall with threat to cut off funds Read more 
 
 A spokesperson for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, said the focus should remain on Trump’s immigration speech in Arizona. Jennifer Palmieri, communications director for Hillary for America, said: “From the first days of his campaign, Donald Trump has painted Mexicans as ‘rapists’ and criminals and has promised to deport 16 million people, including children and US citizens. He has said we should force Mexico to pay for his giant border wall. He has said we should ban remittances to families in Mexico if Mexico doesn’t pay up. 
 
 “What ultimately matters is what Donald Trump says to voters in Arizona, not Mexico, and whether he remains committed to the splitting up of families and deportation of millions.” 
 
 Launching his presidential bid last year, Trump claimed “the US has become a dumping ground for everyone else’s problems”, pointing the finger at Mexico. 
 
 “They’re sending us not the right people,” he said. “They’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing their problems. 
 
 “They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards and they tell us what we are getting.”
– In a situation that was unthinkable just 24 hours ago, Donald Trump and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto gave a joint press conference Wednesday in Mexico City following an hour-long meeting between the two, reports the Los Angeles Times, which calls Trump's jaunt to Mexico both "hastily arranged" and "stunning." "We did discuss the wall," the AP quotes Trump as saying, answering the question on everyone's mind. But: "We didn't discuss payment of the wall." But ABC News reports Peña Nieto later took to Twitter, claiming he did in fact tell Trump Mexico wouldn't pay for the wall, essentially calling the candidate a liar. During the news conference, Trump maintained it was America's right to build a wall, Peña Nieto says any talk of border security needs to include stopping the flow of money and guns into Mexico, according to Politico. In addition to not addressing his long-made claim that Mexico would pay for the wall, Trump also softened his rhetoric on Mexican immigrants. "I happen to have a tremendous feeling for Mexican-Americans," Salon quotes Trump as saying. And Peña Nieto insisted that all Mexican nationals living in the US "deserve the respect of everyone." Trump ended his speech by calling Peña Nieto, a man who once compared him to Hitler, a "friend." Peña Nieto characterized his discussion with Trump as "open and constructive." He says he believes Trump really does want to help Mexico via his policies, the AP reports. Both men are "extremely unpopular" in Mexico, as the Times puts it.