“At the beginning of the conversation with Donald Trump, I made clear that Mexico will not pay for the wall.”

There is no getting around the fact that this is exactly not what Trump said. It’s a flat out contradiction. That’s just a fact. Deal with it.

No doubt he spun it because he didn’t want to say that Nieto straight up said no dice and that Trump didn’t press him on it. How do we know he didn’t press him on it? Confirmation:

//www.redstate.com/wp-content/themes/redstate-desktop-2017/images/redstate-placeholder.png //www.redstate.com/wp-content/themes/redstate-desktop-2017/images/redstate-placeholder.png //www.redstate.com/wp-content/themes/redstate-desktop-2017/images/redstate-placeholder.png //www.redstate.com/wp-content/themes/redstate-desktop-2017/images/redstate-placeholder.png 60w" sizes="(max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px" />

“A from there, the conversation addressed other issues, and was developed in a respectful manner.”

What’s more likely, that the major issue of paying for the wall didn’t get discussed? Or that Trump didn’t want to say he was told “No”? Come on. Be real.

I said earlier that today was a win for Trump if he didn’t blow it tonight at his speech. Looks like we didn’t have to wait even that long.

UPDATE: Here is the parsed answer from the President in defense of Trump’s remark:

EPN spox to @davidluhnow: EPN told Trump no wall $$, Trump didnt react. "Mr. Trump was not lying … because there was no discussion." — Reid J. Epstein (@reidepstein) September 1, 2016