Gabbard’s comments undercut Sheinbaum’s resistance narrative

by David Agren.

A new intervention from US President Donald Trump’s camp is casting doubt on portrayals of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum standing up to Trump’s hardline immigration policies. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, praised Mexico’s role in stopping migrants before they reached the US border -  but credited that action not to Sheinbaum’s resolve, but to pressure from Trump.

“The President of Mexico told me, sir, she turned around over a half a million people in Mexico before they ever reached our border,” Gabbard told Trump. “We should be counting those as deportations because they never even made it to the border because she turned them around because you forced her to. So those are all people that never even came here because they got the message because you were so aggressive.”

The comments raise questions about Sheinbaum’s efforts to portray herself as a defender of Mexican sovereignty, as she gains praise at home and abroad for her handling of Trump’s threats and demands.