It makes total sense this tidbit from Rex Tillerson broke on National Unicorn Day this past weekend, because Donald Trump’s promise that Mexico would pay for his “big, beautiful” wall along the entirety of our border is about as authentic as one:
In Sunday’s interview on ABC’s “This Week,” anchor George Stephanopoulous asked Tillerson whether the wall came up during his meeting at the State Department with Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray last week.
“We had no conversation about that issue,” Tillerson said. “We have had, I think, very productive talks around actions that can be taken to slow and stem and discourage transmigration of people coming from Central America through Mexico and entering the United States.”
When pressed on the matter, Tillerson flatly stated that the wall isn’t a topic of conversation for him and Vidergaray. “It’s just not part of our discussions between the foreign minister and myself,” he said.
Weird—because as secretary of state, having a conversation about this with the Mexican foreign minister would probably be part of his job, right? Or maybe it’ll be up to co-president Jared Kushner to hand Mexican leaders a fake invoice for $50 billion. Anyway, another Republican leader also managed to throw some cold water on Trump’s monument to hate on Sunday:
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said the topic wasn’t off limits for him. During a separate interview on ABC Sunday, Rubio said that in his meetings, the wall did come up — and that Mexico refuses to pay for it but the United States should.
“Let me just say, Mexico’s not going to pay for the wall. And, by the way, America should, if we believe that’s in our national interests to do so,” the Florida senator told Stephanopoulous.
During the Republican primary, Rubio said we “absolutely” needed a wall in the name of “border security,” but then also spent that same election season calling Trump “dangerous” and a “con man.” Takes one to know one, apparently.