Trump Threatens to Send US Troops to Mexico

President Trump threatened in a phone call with his Mexican counterpart to send US troops to stop "bad hombres down there" unless the Mexican military does more to control them, according to an excerpt of a transcript of the conversation obtained by the AP. The excerpt of the call did not make clear who exactly Trump considered "bad hombres"—drug cartels, immigrants, or both—or the tone and context of the remark, made in a Friday morning phone call between the leaders. It also did not contain Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's response. Still, the excerpt offers a rare and striking look at how the new president is conducting diplomacy behind closed doors. Trump's remark suggest he is using the same tough and blunt talk with world leaders that he used to rally crowds on the campaign trail.

"You have a bunch of bad hombres down there," Trump told Pena Nieto. "You aren't doing enough to stop them. I think your military is scared. Our military isn't, so I just might send them down to take care of it." A Mexican reporter's similar account of Trump's comments was published on a Mexican website Tuesday. The reports described Trump as humiliating Pena Nieto in a confrontation conversation. Mexico's foreign relations department denied that account, saying it "is based on absolute falsehoods." The phone call between the leaders was intended to patch things up between the new president and his ally. (More Donald Trump stories.)