White House Trump comments on Mexico ‘lighthearted’

A White House official is confirming that President Donald Trump told Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto that he might send U.S. troops to deal with “bad hombres down there” if the Mexican military doesn’t.

The official says the remark was meant to be “lighthearted” and was a reference to cooperation between the countries in fighting drug cartels.

The Associated Press first reported yesterday that Trump made the comment in an hour-long conversation with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Jan. 27.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the details publicly, said “those comments, while lighthearted, were part of a discussion about how the United States and Mexico could work collaboratively to combat drug cartels and other criminal elements, and make the border more secure.”

The official described the conversation as “pleasant and constructive.”

On another front of his anti-migrant crusade, an Iranian scientist heading to Boston to take a job at a Harvard Medical School lab has sued President Donald Trump after she was denied entry into the U.S.

Samira Asgari says in her lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that she was denied entry to the U.S. even though she had a valid visa and federal judges had issued a restraining order against the president’s ban on visitors from seven Muslim-majority nations, including Iran.

Asgari had most recently been living in Switzerland.

Last weekend, Asgari flew from Switzerland to Germany, but was blocked by U.S. and airline officials as she tried to board a plane to Boston.

In addition to Trump, the suit names Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection officials as defendants. MDT/AP