Mexico slams 'racist' Republican border bill: after Senator said Mexicans would ... trends now
A top Republican has sparked a diplomatic row with Mexico after he said their citizens would be 'eating cat food' without the United States.
Senator John Kennedy was labelled as a 'racist' by the Mexican government after his explosive remarks on how to crack down on drug trafficking.
The Louisiana lawmaker said the Biden administration could use troops to swoop in and break up the cartels because Mexico was so dependent on U.S. trade.
'Without the people of America, Mexico, figuratively speaking, would be eating cat food out of a can and living in a tent,' Kennedy said.
Senator John Kennedy made the bizarre claim that Mexicans would be eating cat food without the economic might of the U.S. next door
'Our economy is $23 trillion. Mexico's economy is 1.3 trillion. Ours is eighteen times bigger. We buy $400 billion every year from Mexico,' he added.
The 71-year-old was grilling Drug Enforcement Agency chief Anne Milgram on her efforts to stop deadly fentayl doses entering the U.S. on Wednesday.
'So why don't you and the president get on the phone and call President (Andres Manuel) López Obrador and make him a deal he can't refuse to allow our military and our law enforcement officials to go into Mexico and work with his to stop the cartels,' he asked Milgram
Kennedy's comments to a Senate committee on federal spending sparked outrage in Mexico, with both the country's president and foreign minister lashing out.
Mexico's top diplomat Marcelo Ebrard said Republicans were deliberately stirring up hatred before the presidential election in 2024.
'What is behind these ideas and those who promote them,' Ebrard said. 'Racism against Mexicans, and in general all Spanish-speakers.'
Meanwhile, the country's president Andrés Manuel López Obrador told Mexicans in the U.S. to vote out those members of Congress with such views.
'Tell our countrymen, Hispanics, our American friends, not to vote for people with this very arrogant, very offensive and very foolish mentality,' he said.
The spat blew up as Republicans in the House of Representatives signed off on a draft law that would revive Donald
