Please wake up

Vicente Fox on Trump: 'Please wake up, America'

By Nick Gass

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox issued an urgent plea Thursday for Americans to "wake up" and realize the harm that Donald Trump's immigration plan would wreak on the United States.

Calling Trump's visit with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto before delivering his immigration speech "a fake," Fox told CNN's "New Day" that it is "incredible how a man can play with public opinions on both sides."

"He comes to Mexico, he plays a totally different music, very diplomatic, very easy and soft talk. Very non-content. No content at all," Fox remarked. "And he comes back to the States and then he comes back to his very old now message. Relying his whole campaign on that wall is incredible. The most gigantic nation in the world, which is the United States, the largest by far economy is based on building a wall. That cannot be a presidential campaign."

Fox warned of the economic impact "of this nonsense of building a wall," remarking that "Mexico contributes at least with 10 million U.S. jobs for U.S. citizens for those who are backing up Trump."

"Mexico provides those jobs. So if we have to quit our relationship because he is proposing that, the first loser is the same United States. And of course, Mexico has where to replace, where to go, to work to rebuild, we can go to many places in the world and many economies that are successful," Fox said. "Really here, my message is, please wake up, America. You have everything to lose and nothing to win with this false prophet."

Asked who would pay for Trump's proposed wall, Fox bowdlerized his repeated claim that Mexico will not pay for his "f---ing" wall, suggesting that American companies would be forced to lay off workers.

"It's stupid, this whole idea. I don't know why we discuss it so long and so frequently," Fox said. "This guy is absolutely crazy."

Peña Nieto made a "historic mistake" by not being more emphatic that Mexico would not pay for the wall, Fox continued.

And Trump, Fox remarked, is "showing himself as he is, a liar. He is a liar. He's lying to U.S. voters, to U.S. followers, and he came to Mexico to lie to Mexican people."

"He is totally wrong around his economic ideas. He remembers [sic] me of President Hoover," he said. "He came with exactly the same proposals. To isolate the United States. To tax imports from abroad and to limit companies and corporations to invest abroad. And then the big depression came. This is what U.S. voters, followers of Trump have to read. They have to learn about this. And this is what will happen."