Peña Nieto made trips to the southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas to see the earthquake damage, but he also spent large chunks of time in Mexico City. On Monday, it wasn’t until the about 1 p.m. that Peña Nieto flew to Chiapas, and he returned the same night. On Tuesday, Peña Nieto inaugurated a road in the state of Mexico, north of the capital, and hundreds of miles away from the earthquake damage. On Wednesday morning, he presided over a military ceremony in Mexico City, then flew to Oaxaca at about 3 p.m., returning after midnight.
But even if Trump missed those Mexico City moments, it’s not clear that Peña Nieto had signal trouble on his travels. Over the weekend, when this reporter was in Juchitán and the neighboring town of Asunción Ixtaltepec, in a part of Oaxaca hit hard by the earthquake, making cellphone calls was not a problem.
Commentators in Mexico were quick to call out Trump for leaning on the cellphone excuse. Some Mexicans mocked him by borrowing Trump’s rhetorical style.
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