1. Let's call the whole thing off
Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto said he had canceled a planned visit with Donald Trump next week, after Trump taunted Mexico about paying for a border wall. Trump claimed the decision to cancel the meeting was mutual.
2. Mexico will ... pay for it?
How to pay for the wall? In a chat with reporters, press secretary Sean Spicer threw out the idea of a new 20% tax on imports from Mexico, America’s third-largest goods-trading partner. Spicer later said that was not a policy proposal.
Budget hawks
Speaking at a Republican retreat, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said the wall would cost between $12bn and $15bn “up front”. Neither he nor House speaker Paul Ryan would say how that cost might be offset in the federal budget.
Big-time bad
Simply put, any policy proposal which drives up costs of Corona, tequila, or margaritas is a big-time bad idea. Mucho Sad. (2)
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 26, 2017
A question from a former president of Mexico:
@realDonaldTrump's ego monument real cost is around 25 billion USD. I ask you, America, what would you prefer instead of that #FuckingWall?
— Vicente Fox Quesada (@VicenteFoxQue) January 26, 2017
3. UK prime minister meets GOP in Philly
On the eve of a White House visit, Theresa May said the UK and the US “have a joint responsibility to lead”, but the “days of Britain and America intervening in sovereign countries in an attempt to remake the world in our own image are over”.
4. Advice from Stephen Bannon
The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for awhile.
– Trump’s chief White House strategist to the New York Times
5. Dem congresswoman met Assad
Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who met Trump after his election, went on a “fact-finding” mission to Syria and met President Bashar al-Assad, in the first meeting between a US elected official and Assad known to have occurred in years.
“Initially I hadn’t planned on meeting him ...”
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... and another thing:
Sean Spicer just tweeted something that looks an awful lot like a password https://t.co/puPaUA2lqF pic.twitter.com/nPrdtCYA9D
— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) January 26, 2017
... and another thing:
NEW: It turns out Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner is also registered to vote in two states https://t.co/FNd0J7S3Cu
— Matea Gold (@mateagold) January 26, 2017
