Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto told Donald Trump on Wednesday that Mexico would not pay for the proposed wall along the U.S. southern border the Republican nominee has vowed to erect if he wins the White House in November.
Trump, who traveled to Mexico ahead of an immigration speech he delivered Wednesday night, said earlier during a joint news conference with Nieto that the two had discussed the wall, but not his demand that Mexico pay for it.
"Who pays for the wall? We didn’t discuss," Trump told a reporter during the news conference in Mexico City.
A spokesman for Nieto disputed Trump’s claim shortly after the meeting.
"What the president said is that Mexico, as he has said on several occasions ... will not pay for that wall," Eduardo Sanchez told Reuters on Wednesday.
Nieto repeated this assertion in a subsequent tweet.
"At the beginning of the conversation with Donald Trump I made it clear that Mexico will not pay for the wall," Nieto said.
Al inicio de la conversación con Donald Trump dejé claro que México no pagará por el muro.
— Enrique Peña Nieto (@EPN) August 31, 2016
He added they then moved on to other topics in a respectful manner.
The Trump campaign said in a statement the meeting "was not a negotiation, and that would have been inappropriate."
"It is unsurprising that they hold two different views on this issue, and we look forward to continuing the conversation," the statement continued.
Mexicans hurled criticisms at Nieto over his decision to the meet with Trump. Politicians called the meeting a national humiliation while citizens expressed anger that Nieto did not demand an apology from the Republican nominee for calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals.
Former Mexican President Vincente Fox told local media that Trump was solely interested in boosting his flailing campaign.
"He fooled him [Nieto] ... he’s using him to try to recover lost votes," CBS News reported.