At her mañanera (morning press conference) yesterday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said this:
Sheinbaum noted that all state governors will attend a security meeting with federal officials in Acapulco next week.
She indicated that on the sidelines of that meeting, the governors of Mexico’s six northern border states – Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas – will gather with federal officials to discuss Donald Trump’s stated plan to carry out a mass deportation operation.
Sheinbaum said that the federal government will come to an agreement with the northern border states over “how to receive our compatriots in case of a mass deportation” of Mexican immigrants currently living in the United States.
“We hope that it doesn’t happen, but if it does happen we’ll be prepared to welcome them,” she said.
I’ve written earlier about Claudia’s handling of Trump, and her latest statement is consistent with the way she dealt with him earlier. Cordial, sticking to facts, and not over-reacting to his threats. A malignant narcissist thrives on making threats, then having people kow-tow to him because of the threat. Saying, basically, “yeah, that wouldn’t be great, but if it happens, we’ll deal with it” takes some of the wind out of the narcissist’s sails. Also, not being reactive to a threat, even in the face of a short-term loss, often works out: the Peso, which had fallen after Trump’s tariff threats, has recovered.
The other fact about Mexico is that they wield a lot of power in the US/Mexico relationship. I’m sitting here eating a Mexican-grown avocado and some Mexican-grown blueberries, for example: a 25% tariff wouldn’t be great for grocery prices. Mexico also has a track record of limiting migration through the country: they detained 5,000 migrants on Tuesday, bringing the total number detained since Claudia took office on October 1 to almost 350,000. Send back a few million Mexicans and you’ll see the Mexican government opening their borders and letting millions of Central and South American migrants through their country. That doesn’t even consider the massive amounts of heavy goods (autos, trucks, appliances) manufactured in maquiladoras across the north of Mexico, another disincentive for tariffs.
Contrast Claudia’s approach with Justin Trudeau, the for-now Prime Minister of the Great White North. Justin immediately hopped on a plane and went on an ass-kissing mission to Mar-a-Lago. After that meeting, Justin’s reward was Trump musing about annexing Canada, and this at some buttlicking convention in Florida:
The Politico story about the annexation of Canada had the subhead “‘The president was teasing,’ insists a top Trudeau minister who attended Mar-a-Lago dinner.” That’s a powerful message for Justin to take home as he faces an uphill battle against the Tories and their new leader Pierre Poilievre. And, really, was this necessary? I’d argue that Canada is in a similarly strong position as Mexico where tariffs are concerned. Their exports, including oil, cars, airplane parts, wheat and beef, are consumer goods where tariffs would be an economic disaster.
As far as I’m concerned, Justin showed us all how not to deal with Trump, and Claudia has, so far, shown us how to deal with Trump. First rule: never appear in person with Trump if you can avoid it–he considers it a win if you show up at Mar-a-Lago. Second rule: react with the facts, not with panic. Third rule: keep your fucking dignity intact, Jesus Christ. He wants to dominate. Deny him as much as possible.
So, in closing, #EsClaudia and Justin’s no Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau.
Claudia vs Justin – How to Deal with a Malignant NarcissistPost + Comments (28)
