http://www.dailywire.com/news/8793/there-are-4-ways-trumps-big-mexico-trip-could-turn-ben-shapiro?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_content=news&utm_campaign=twitterbenshapiroThere Are 4 Ways Trump's Big Mexico Trip Could Turn Out. Two Of Them Are Bad.BY: BEN SHAPIRO AUGUST 31, 2016
On Tuesday night, The Washington Post reported that Donald Trump would head to Mexico to meet with President Enrique Pena Nieto. Clearly Trump wants to shake up his campaign and make headlines – and he wants headlines about immigration that don’t focus on his botched rollout of his new immigration plan. The trip to Mexico certainly wipes that confusion off the front pages.
But it’s also high risk and high reward, a gutsy move from a candidate who must pull out all the stops to climb back into serious contention.
Here are four plausible outcomes – two of which work for Trump, and two of which would be disastrous.
1. Pena Nieto Slaps Trump. This is the most plausible outcome, and also the worst outcome for Trump. Presumably it’s why some members of the Trump campaign didn’t want him to do the trip. Pena Nieto is embroiled in his own set of scandals; he’s incredibly unpopular in his own country right now. And he’s labeled Trump a figure akin to Hitler and Mussolini. This smells like a set-up of grand proportions: an opportunity for Pena Nieto to slam Trump in full public view, while Trump stands there and takes it. That would be a serious debacle.
2. Trump Slaps Pena Nieto. Let’s say Trump goes down to Mexico and tells them he wants them to pay for a wall because they keep sending rapists and murderers across the border. Let’s say Pena Nieto stares at him in horror as the cameras roll. Presumably, Trump’s fans will like it. But that would simply confirm Hillary Clinton’s argument that Trump doesn’t know how to play on the international stage, and lets his personal pique overrule his better sense.
3. Trump Wins A Concession From Pena Nieto. This is the best available outcome for Trump: Pena Nieto gives Trump something, they both declare victory, and Trump comes back and announces that while he now understands the Mexican perspective on illegal immigration better, he can obviously cut a Great Deal™ with the Mexican government.
4. Trump Reaches An ‘Understanding.’ Trump could meet with Pena Nieto and pull an Obama during the financial crash 2008: just sit at the table and listen, then announce tonight that he understands the issues better than he did this morning, and pin his swivel on the new “understanding.” This is the most likely outcome. It’s not likely to persuade many people, but it does push an image he must embrace – an image of a person who wants to listen to advice, and who will change based on evidence.
So, it’s a risky move. But Trump is the king of risky moves. We’ll find out today whether it pays off.
