--- description: Trump had trouble getting Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on the phone to discuss NAFTA while on live TV. title: President Trump Had Some Trouble Getting Ahold of Mexico’s President on Live TV image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta041472b9002d56f/698938c722fb85088ee26892/trumpmexicopresident.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # President Trump Had Some Trouble Getting Ahold of Mexico’s President on Live TV by [Ashley Hoffman](/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 27, 2018 4:55 PM CUT  U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on the telephone via speakerphone with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in the Oval Office of the White House on August 27, 2018 in Washington, DC. Trump announced that the United States and Mexico have reached a preliminary agreement on trade. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on the telephone via speakerphone with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in the Oval Office of the White House on August 27, 2018 in Washington, DC. Trump announced that the United States and Mexico have reached a preliminary agreement on trade. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)Win McNamee—Getty Images by [Ashley Hoffman](/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 27, 2018 4:55 PM CUT Even the [President](http://time.com/5378173/trump-says-us-near-trade-agreement-with-mexico/ "undefined") can experience phone issues at work. [Mexico’s](http://time.com/4473972/donald-trump-&/ "undefined") President Enrique Peña Nieto joined President Donald Trump via speaker phone from the Oval Office regarding a preliminary deal to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Trump announced the U.S. had reached the preliminary agreement on trade that he heralded as “a big deal!” on Monday morning ahead of the call. But before he joined the call, Trump was left waiting for Nieto for a little less than a minute. It was the kind of moment you might expect to see in the hit comedy _The Office_. “Enrique?” he asked while on speakerphone. No answer. It may have been the Oval Office and an especially important phone call. But for people watching the moment live, it was oddly relatable. Suffice it to say it quickly lit up the internet. See reactions to the moment below. > [](https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1034104551555690496) > [](https://twitter.com/RiegerReport/status/1034104897766137856) > [](https://twitter.com/SteveKopack/status/1034106141771530240) > [](https://twitter.com/eliotnelson/status/1034104673572204545) > [](https://twitter.com/BPatrickNormal/status/1034108469836537857) > [](https://twitter.com/MRLiepis/status/1034108081930731525) > [](https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1034105790154588161) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5379170/trump-pena-nieto-phone/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5379170/trump-pena-nieto-phone/"},"headline":"President Trump Had Some Trouble Getting Ahold of Mexico’s President on Live TV","datePublished":"2018-08-27T16:55:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:54:32.291Z","description":"Trump had trouble getting Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on the phone to discuss NAFTA while on live TV.","url":"https://time.com/5379170/trump-pena-nieto-phone/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta041472b9002d56f/698938c722fb85088ee26892/trumpmexicopresident.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta041472b9002d56f/698938c722fb85088ee26892/trumpmexicopresident.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Announces Revised NAFTA Deal With Mexico","caption":"President Trump Announces Revised NAFTA Deal With Mexico","creditText":"Win McNamee—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5379170/trump-pena-nieto-phone/","name":"President Trump Had Some Trouble Getting Ahold of Mexico’s President on Live TV"}}]}] ```