Kelly told Trump Mexico was on the verge of collapse like Venezuela: report [View all]

[DonViejo]

BY JULIA MANCHESTER - 09/15/17 09:21 AM EDT

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly likened Mexico to Venezuela during a conversation with President Trump this month, telling Trump Mexico was similarly on the verge of collapse, according to The New York Times.

Kelly made the comments to Trump after the president met with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. During the meeting, Schumer offered to pledge his support for boarder security measures on the wall.

Schumer stopped short of expressing any support for a wall along the the U.S.-Mexico border.

Kelly has long been an advocate for increased security measures along the U.S. southern border, and made that a focus of his efforts during his short tenure as Homeland Security secretary. The Trump administration is currently under fire from the president's base for not making enough progress on building the wall, which was one of his key campaign promises in 2016.

Venezuela is facing a wave of violent anti-government protests, resulting in the deaths of numerous people in recent months. The South American country is dealing with food and medicine shortages, as well as hyper inflation.

more
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/350814-kelly-told-trump-mexico-was-on-the-verge-of-collapse-like-venezuela