 "Donald Trump's remarks damaging US foreign relations: Obama")
The recent remarks of Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump on foreign policy, including on Mexican immigrants, have damaged US relations with other nations, President Barack Obama said today.
"The answer to the question is yes," Obama said on Tuesday at a White House news conference when asked if Trump's foreign policy proposals are damaging US relations abroad.
"I think that I've been very clear earlier that I am getting questions constantly from foreign leaders about some of the wackier suggestions that are being made. I do have to emphasise that it's not just Mr Trump's proposals. You're also hearing concerns about Mr (Ted) Cruz's proposals, which in some ways are just as draconian when it comes to immigration, for example," Obama said.
"First of all, they're impractical. We just talked about the difficulties of trying to enforce huge outflows of capital. The notion that we're going to track every Western Union bit of money that's being sent to Mexico, good luck with that," Obama said.
"Then we've got the issue of the implications for the Mexican economy, which in turn, if it's collapsing, actually sends more immigrants north because they can't find jobs back in Mexico. But this is just one more example of something that is not thought through and is primarily put forward for political consumption," Obama said.
"As I've tried to emphasise throughout, we've got serious problems here. We've got big issues around the world. People expect the President of the United States and the elected officials in this country to treat these problems seriously, to put forward policies that have been examined, analysed, are effective, where unintended consequences are taken into account. They don't expect half-baked notions coming out of the White House. We can't afford that," Obama said.
Trump has said he would force Mexico to pay for a border wall by threatening to cut off billions of dollars in remittances sent by immigrants living in the US.
A memo by Trump outlines how he would try to compel Mexico to pay for a 1,000-mile wall if he becomes president.
"The answer to the question is yes," Obama said on Tuesday at a White House news conference when asked if Trump's foreign policy proposals are damaging US relations abroad.
"I think that I've been very clear earlier that I am getting questions constantly from foreign leaders about some of the wackier suggestions that are being made. I do have to emphasise that it's not just Mr Trump's proposals. You're also hearing concerns about Mr (Ted) Cruz's proposals, which in some ways are just as draconian when it comes to immigration, for example," Obama said.
Also Read
"The implications with respect to ending remittances -- many of which, by the way, are from legal immigrants and from individuals who are sending money back to their families -- are enormous," he said.
"First of all, they're impractical. We just talked about the difficulties of trying to enforce huge outflows of capital. The notion that we're going to track every Western Union bit of money that's being sent to Mexico, good luck with that," Obama said.
"Then we've got the issue of the implications for the Mexican economy, which in turn, if it's collapsing, actually sends more immigrants north because they can't find jobs back in Mexico. But this is just one more example of something that is not thought through and is primarily put forward for political consumption," Obama said.
"As I've tried to emphasise throughout, we've got serious problems here. We've got big issues around the world. People expect the President of the United States and the elected officials in this country to treat these problems seriously, to put forward policies that have been examined, analysed, are effective, where unintended consequences are taken into account. They don't expect half-baked notions coming out of the White House. We can't afford that," Obama said.
Trump has said he would force Mexico to pay for a border wall by threatening to cut off billions of dollars in remittances sent by immigrants living in the US.
A memo by Trump outlines how he would try to compel Mexico to pay for a 1,000-mile wall if he becomes president.