--- title: Donald Trump Visit Could Have Gone Better: Mexican President description: "Could we have done things better? Maybe yes, admittedly" canonical: https://time.com/4542491/president-pena-nieto-mexico-donald-trump-visit/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-24T14:36:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:45:25.777Z article:section: Politics og:title: Donald Trump's Visit to Mexico Could Have Gone Better, President Peña Nieto Says og:description: "Could we have done things better? Maybe yes, admittedly" og:url: https://time.com/4542491/president-pena-nieto-mexico-donald-trump-visit/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt493f6c0a09882f91/6988ab41656a3f4f17bcd920/gettyimages-598122852.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6000 og:image:height: 3375 og:image:alt: Trump Heads to Mexico Looking to Shake Up U.S. Presidential Race og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump's Visit to Mexico Could Have Gone Better, President Peña Nieto Says twitter:description: "Could we have done things better? Maybe yes, admittedly" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt493f6c0a09882f91/6988ab41656a3f4f17bcd920/gettyimages-598122852.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump's Visit to Mexico Could Have Gone Better, President Peña Nieto Says > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Oct 24, 2016 2:36 PM UTC  Enrique Pena Nieto, Mexico's president, left, speaks as Donald Trump, 2016 Republican presidential nominee, listens during a joint conference in Mexico City, Mexico, on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016\. Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images Enrique Pena Nieto, Mexico's president, left, speaks as Donald Trump, 2016 Republican presidential nominee, listens during a joint conference in Mexico City, Mexico, on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016\. Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Oct 24, 2016 2:36 PM UTC [Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-mexico-idUSKCN12O0A8?utm%5Fcampaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm%5Fcontent=580df8ee04d301472780b041&utm%5Fmedium=trueAnthem&utm%5Fsource=twitter) stands by his decision to host Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for a meeting a couple months ago, but admitted Sunday the visit could have been better executed. “Could we have done things better? Maybe yes, admittedly. I think that this genuine interest to bring about a meeting to take care of Mexico’s interests, I think, could have been done in a better way,” Peña Nieto [said in an interview](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-mexico-idUSKCN12O0A8?utm%5Fcampaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm%5Fcontent=580df8ee04d301472780b041&utm%5Fmedium=trueAnthem&utm%5Fsource=twitter). The controversial August visit was viewed negatively by many in Mexico given Trump’s harsh criticisms of the country and its people, including his vows to build a border wall and nix trade deals with Mexico. While in Mexico [Trump was reserved](http://time.com/4475088/donald-trump-mexico-enrique-pena-nieto/), but once back on U.S. soil he reiterated his belief that he would be able to force Mexico to pay for his proposed border wall. Peña Nieto invited both Trump and Clinton to visit, but the Republican nominee was the only candidate who accepted. After the visit, Peña Nieto’s finance minister Luis Videgaray was forced to resign, Reuters reports. “At the end of the day, it’s all about ensuring the best interests of Mexico, even if it could be very controversial, as it turned out to be,” Peña Nieto said. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-mexico-idUSKCN12O0A8?utm%5Fcampaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm%5Fcontent=580df8ee04d301472780b041&utm%5Fmedium=trueAnthem&utm%5Fsource=twitter)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4542491/president-pena-nieto-mexico-donald-trump-visit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4542491/president-pena-nieto-mexico-donald-trump-visit/"},"headline":"Donald Trump's Visit to Mexico Could Have Gone Better, President Peña Nieto Says","datePublished":"2016-10-24T14:36:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:45:25.777Z","description":"\"Could we have done things better? 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