--- title: Donald Trump: Bill Ford Meets With Trump on Mexico Comments description: Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. said he spoke with Donald Trump about his extensive criticism of the automaker's investments in Mexico. canonical: https://time.com/4520239/ford-chairman-meeting-donald-trump/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-05T19:50:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:49:33.936Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ford Chairman Met With Donald Trump Over 'Infuriating' Mexico Comments og:description: Ford said it was a "great meeting" og:url: https://time.com/4520239/ford-chairman-meeting-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd9f416d75d1fa66/6988a8cf428a9e1639cd4841/bill-ford-jr.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Ford Chairman Bill Ford Addresses Economic Club Of Washington DC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ford Chairman Met With Donald Trump Over 'Infuriating' Mexico Comments twitter:description: Ford said it was a "great meeting" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd9f416d75d1fa66/6988a8cf428a9e1639cd4841/bill-ford-jr.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ford Chairman Met With Donald Trump Over 'Infuriating' Mexico Comments > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=7d3da437-3a67-4dbc-84f5-71a1eb564a32&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Donald Trump's Comments on Mexico [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump's Comments on Mexico](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HHRjXYzl.m3u8) (1:10)  _Published 2016-08-31. Donald Trump kicked off his presidential bid more than a year ago with harsh words for Mexico. “They are not our friend, believe me,” he said, before disparaging Mexican immigrants._ by [David Shepardson / Reuters](https://time.com/author/reuters/) ## David Shepardson / Reuters Oct 5, 2016 7:50 PM UTC Donald Trump kicked off his presidential bid more than a year ago with harsh words for Mexico. “They are not our friend, believe me,” he said, before disparaging Mexican immigrants. by [David Shepardson / Reuters](https://time.com/author/reuters/) ## David Shepardson / Reuters Oct 5, 2016 7:50 PM UTC (WASHINGTON) – Ford Motor Co Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. said on Wednesday he has met with Donald Trump to talk about the Republican presidential candidate’s extensive criticism of the automaker’s investments in Mexico. Ford told the Economic Club of Washington that he thought Trump’s criticism of the No. 2 automaker’s foreign investments were “infuriating and “frustrating” because of the company’s extensive investments and employment in the United States. Trump has threatened if elected to impose hefty tariffs on Ford imports from Mexico. Ford told reporters after the event that the session with Trump was a “great meeting” that took place a few months ago. “He was very thoughtful, asked good questions,” Ford said of Trump. “He certainly knows the facts.” Asked if Trump had changed his mind about his criticism, Ford did not directly answer but said, “The campaign trail is a different animal than anything I’m ever familiar with.” A person briefed on the matter said the meeting took place in New York this summer at the real estate mogul’s Trump Tower. The automaker had previously invited Trump to visit its headquarters at Dearborn, Michigan but he has not taken the company up on the offer. Ford rejected the criticism from Trump, noting that it employs more U.S. workers and builds more vehicles in the United States than its rivals. “We should be celebrated I think in some ways as the great American car company,” Ford said. “We make more cars and trucks here than anyone else.” Ford announced last month that all of the company’s small-car production would be leaving U.S. plants and heading to lower-cost Mexico, drawing another rebuke from the White House hopeful. Ford has repeatedly said no U.S. jobs will be lost because of the move — and it will produce two new vehicles at a Detroit area plant that built the small cars. Trump called Ford’s decision “horrible.” He has criticized Ford’s Mexican investments for more than a year and vowed to pressure the automaker to reverse course if elected. “We shouldn’t allow it to happen,” Trump said. Trump has also repeatedly misstated Ford’s plans at times, wrongly suggesting last month Ford would “fire all of their employees in the United States.” Many major automakers have announced big expansions in Mexico, where labor rates are much lower than what U.S. workers make. A spokeswoman for Trump did not immediately comment. Last year, Ford said that chief executive Mark Fields had written to Trump to explain its investments in Mexico. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Alistair Bell) ## Transcript [00:00] I get along great with the Mexicans. I get along great with [00:02] everybody and everything having to do with Mexico. When [00:04] Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. [00:09] They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, their rapists, [00:13] and some Not [00:18] gonna happen [00:29] anymore. The first thing I need is a wall. We're building the [00:32] wall, believe me. [ APPLAUSE ] It's not gonna be a wall [00:34] that they just climb up. We have a nice strong border. We [00:37] have a nice beautiful wall. Now, we're building the wall. [00:39] And Mexico is going to pay for the wall. How are you going [00:42] to make them pay for the wall? I will, and the wall [00:46] just got ten feet taller. The wall just got ten feet higher. The [00:49] wall just got ten feet higher. Build the wall. Build that wall. [00:50] Build that wall. Build that wall. Build that [00:59] wall. There is no way that Mexico can pay a wall like that. I [01:02] have a great relationship with Mexico. How can I not love [01:06] people that give me tens of millions of dollars for [01:09] apartments? 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