Mexican President Andrés Manuel Luís Obrador (AMLO) said Friday that his country is “always seeking a good relationship with the United States.”
The comment comes after a barrage of tweets from U.S. President Donald Trump, where he threatened to shut down the southern border among continuing disputes with Democrats over the continuing partial government shutdown, the Associated Press reports.
“We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with,” Trump tweeted Friday.
According to AP, the Mexican president said he has not commented on the wall funding and government shutdown “because it is an internal affair of the U.S. Government.”
AMLO took an even-minded approach to Trump’s comments, saying, “We are always seeking a good relationship with the United States. We do not want to be rash.”
The U.S. President also took a swipe at the North American Free Trade Agreement (which the U.S., Mexico, and Canada agreed to replace in early October) and said the U.S. Would be cutting off aid to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, claiming without evidence that another caravan of immigrants is on its way north.
The Trump administration clashed with Mexico’s new liberal president over the handling of immigrants the last time a large group attempted to seek asylum in the U.S. According to AP, AMLO reaffirmed his support of migrants following Trump’s comments on Friday.