White House Denies Mexican President’s Claim That Biden Is Trying to Derail Trump Ahead of 2024 Election

(CNSNews.com) – The White House on Tuesday pushed back on comments made by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in which he accused the Biden administration of trying to derail former President Trump’s 2024 presidential bid and saying that fentanyl is not a Mexican problem but a U.S. problem.

“Right now, former President Trump is declaring that they are going to arrest him,” López Obrador, who is also known by his initials AMLO, said during a press conference. “If that were the case…it would be so that his name doesn’t appear on the ballot.”

“I say this because I too have suffered from the fabrication of a crime, when they didn’t want me to run,” López Obrador said Tuesday while discussing Trump. “And this is completely anti-democratic…. Why not allow the people to decide?”

“I wanted to ask you about some comments by the President of Mexico, who’s been very critical of the administration recently. Just today, he suggested that the U.S. had blown up the Nord Stream pipeline, suggested the administration was trying to derail Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 election, and then, recently, he said that fentanyl is a U.S. problem, not a Mexican problem,” a reporter said.

“This, of course, is — comes just a couple of months after the two leaders met in Mexico City.  I’m wondering what this says about U.S.-Mexico relations — how you go forward when he’s — you know, when he’s saying these kinds of things?” the reporter asked.

“Well, you said a couple things that I want to address. Clearly, the first two are not true. and — and so, I’m just going to put that on the record,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

“As it relates to the fentanyl, this is — this is not a U.S. problem, it’s a global one. The trafficking of illicit drugs is causing a societal — societal damage, needless death and suffering — and not just here, but also in Mexico, and so, you know, we want to be really mindful about that,” the press secretary said.

“Dr. Liz Sherwood-Randall recently — the president’s homeland security advisor and other high-level U.S. delegation, they went — they were in Mexico, and they — they discussed concrete opportunities to detect and dis- — and disrupt and prosecute those who manufacture and traffic fentanyl, and that is a conversation — a delegation that went to Mexico to have this conversation,” she said.

“And so, you know, just want to be really clear about that, because that is something that — when we think about fentanyl, it’s something that is affecting many communities. Look, we see our relationship with Mexico a vital one, an important one. They are a close neighbor,” Jean-Pierre said.

“As you just mentioned, the president was just recently in Mexico City in January to do the summit, not just with the president of Mexico, but also the Prime Minister of Canada,” the press secretary said.

“You saw them. They had a very good — a very good summit. You know, good discussion bilaterally when they had that opportunity during the summit, and so, we’re going to try and continue to grow — to grow that relationship, but, you know, I’m certainly going to speak out and make sure we correct the record on some of the things that have just been said,” she said.

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