Opinion: A day in the life of mixed Trump tone and message

To the editor: A no-win gathering.

Donald Trump visits the county/people he has been degrading for months, and completely sidelines his hard stance on getting Mexico to pay for “the wall.”

( “Trump softens tone but not stance in Mexico, Sept. 1 and “Trump renews hard-line border stance,” Sept. 1)

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto talks up the two countries’ shared “$500 billion in commerce,” instead of confronting Trump on his rhetoric. Both gentlemen missed a strong opportunity to strengthen their bases. Politics as usual.

Conrad Corral, Cathedral City

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To the editor: What I don’t understand is why The Times apparently feels that the rights of 11 million illegal immigrants trump (pun intended) the rights of law-abiding US citizens?

At the end of your article, you state that the Mexican government is quietly “offering support for Mexicans who are eligible to become U.S. citizens and helping them register to vote.” You don’t consider this a foreign government tampering with our electoral process?

Rick Kern, Incline Village, Nevada

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To the editor: Whether it is a citizen of our country, an undocumented person, or visitors from other countries, they are buying goods and services. Indeed they are consumers of goods and services that fuel our market system and small businesses.

I was wondering what Wall Street, or Main Street businesses, think about Trump’s plan to deport 11 million people?

Deporting millions of consumers could cut the market’s income by billions of dollars. As we all know, when businesses lose money, it is time to lay off their workers, here and abroad. That won’t create jobs either, Donald Trump.

Ken Johnson, Pinon Hills, Calif.

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To the editor: I take exception to your characterization of the meeting between Trump and the Mexican president as a “summit.”

To me a summit is a meeting among leaders of their respective countries. Peña Nieto is such a leader.

Trump, right now, is merely a candidate.

Bruce Phillips, Covina

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To the editor: When did Trump’s campaign team take over your paper? After his insanely vitriolic “immigration” speech that should have terrified anyone who cherishes the values of our country, The Times chose to run a front-page photo of Trump over a headline proclaiming that he “softens his tone” in Mexico. The flip-flop headline in the California section told us that he “renews [his] hard-line border stance.”

That such stories were treated with velvet gloves, while Clinton’s far less unsettling email and Clinton Foundation “scandals” are regularly placed under a harsh spotlight, speaks clearly to a double standard.

Nick Duretta, Pasadena

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To the editor: After suspense-building delays, Trump’s vaunted but vague vision for immigration reform finally begins to take shape. Yet beyond his dog-whistle rhetoric, he offers little to change the current administration’s deportation policies — a few tweaks, which may prove financially and procedurally difficult, if not impossible, to implement. I suddenly can’t get an old Peggy Lee tune out of my head: “Is That All There Is?”

Betty Turner, Sherman Oaks

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To the editor: Trump managed to make Mexico’s president look like a chump for inviting him to Mexico and gave his most xenophobic speech to date all in one day. At the press conference after their meeting, Nieto stood transfixed as Trump turned on the smarm and soft-peddled his demands. His speech made his immigration policy perfectly clear: “Make America white again.”

Raul Valdez, Alhambra

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