The on-camera announcement of a trade deal with Mexico got off to an awkward start.
President Donald Trump ‘s trade triumph got off to an awkward start Monday.
After a week of mostly bad news for the president, the White House scheduled an on-camera announcement of a trade agreement with Mexico that moves the neighbors closer to replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement. As part of the press event, Trump spoke on the phone with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto about the deal.
It took a little bit for the leaders to connect while Trump sat at his Oval Office desk.
“I believe the president is on the phone. Enrique?” Trump said, looking at a phone as no sound came from it. The president pressed a button on the phone display, then was greeted with more silence.
When sound came out of one of the phones on Trump’s desk, the president asked a staffer to come over and transfer the call to a phone closer to him. Trump’s conversation with Pena-Nieto then began about a minute after he tried to start talking to the Mexican president.
