WASHINGTON _ Donald Trump has decided that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, one of his favorite villains during the presidential election, might not be so bad after all. He's even "wonderful," Trump now says.
The two dined together Saturday at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, after which Trump had only nice things to say about Slim, according to a report in The Washington Post. Trump described the interaction with his erstwhile nemesis as "a lovely dinner with a wonderful man."
This is not how Trump talked about Slim, one of the world's richest men, during the election. The Mexican billionaire was a regular target of the then-GOP nominee because of his large ownership stake in The New York Times. Add to that Slim's generous contributions to the Clinton Foundation and his citizenship in the country Trump reveled in attacking, and he made for good fodder at Trump rallies.
When Trump objected to The Times' coverage of his campaign _ and its reporting on the allegations by multiple women of past inappropriate sexual advances by Trump _ he alleged it was all part of a conspiracy cooked up by Slim. Trump called the outlet's reporters "corporate lobbyists for Carlos Slim and for Hillary Clinton."
The Times called Trump's charges a fabrication, saying Slim had never inserted himself in editorial decision making there. And Trump offered no evidence to the contrary. A spokesman for Slim said at the time the two had never met, and the Mexican businessman had no interest in involving himself in the U.S. election.
Now they've met. The takeaway from the meeting, though, is murky. Maybe it indicates Trump is softening his posture toward Mexico _ or maybe it just indicates billionaires enjoy the company of other billionaires.
