Trump’s message celebrating 1847 invasion of Mexico draws defiant response from Sheinbaum

U.S. President Donald Trump has recovered different mode to antagonize Mexicans, releasing a “presidential message” celebrating the 178th day of what helium called the United States’ “legendary victory” successful the Mexican-American War.

The connection was published by the White House connected Monday, the 178th day of the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War, and which required Mexico to cede 55% of its territory to the United States.

Trump’s connection stated that the U.S. achieved “a legendary triumph that secured the American Southwest, reasserted American sovereignty, and expanded the committedness of American independency crossed our majestic continent.”

It mentioned the United States “superior subject strategy,” its “series of victories successful the Mexican territories of California and New Mexico” and “a triumphant triumph for American sovereignty” erstwhile U.S. forces “heroically captured the superior of Mexico City successful September of 1847.”

Trump besides said that successful his 2nd word arsenic president, helium has been “guided by our triumph connected the fields of Mexico 178 years ago.”

“I person spared nary effort successful defending our confederate borderline against invasion, upholding the regularisation of law, and protecting our homeland from forces of evil, violence, and destruction,” helium wrote.

“My Administration is halting the travel of deadly drugs entering our state done Mexico, ending the penetration of amerciable aliens on our confederate border, and dismantling narco-terrorist networks each crossed the Western hemisphere.”

The connection was released 5 months up of the 250th day of the United States’ Declaration of Independence, and included “America 250” successful its title.

José Díaz Briseño, a U.S. analogous for the paper Reforma, described the connection arsenic “unusual,” portion Ariel Moutsatsos, the U.S. bureau main for Televisa’s N+ network, noted that the White House didn’t usage to contented specified statements.

ATENCIÓN

La Casa Blanca emitió comunicado conmemorando la guerra con México (1846-48) y celebrando la invasión, la toma “heroica” de la Ciudad de México y la anexión de territorios como una “victoria triunfante de soberanía americana”.

No solían hacerlo. https://t.co/8iyctY31oE

— Ariel Moutsatsos (@arielmou) February 3, 2026

“Trump’s White House virtually describing Mexico arsenic a onshore of conquest, not arsenic a partner,” Díaz wrote connected X connected Tuesday.

“Yesterday’s antithetic property merchandise celebrating the U.S. penetration of Mexico & the forced annexation of Mexican territory. Whoa,” helium wrote supra an excerpt from the statesmanlike message.

The work of the connection followed an assertion from Trump past period that the United States would commencement “hitting” cartels connected onshore successful Mexico.

Under Trump, the U.S. is playing a acold much assertive relation successful the Western Hemisphere, arsenic demonstrated by the bold subject cognition that resulted successful the seizure of Nicolás Maduro successful Venezuela past month.

Trump’s connection connected the Mexican-American War besides asserted that the United States has “stopped a hostile overseas powerfulness from controlling the Panama Canal” and affirmed that “we are aggressively pursuing an America First argumentation of bid done spot and volition proceed to reassert the Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine to guarantee the Hemisphere remains safe, prosperous, and free.”

Trump has spoken connected galore occasions astir his willingness to usage the U.S. subject against cartels successful Mexico, six of which were designated arsenic overseas violent organizations by the U.S. authorities past year. Last May, helium adjacent made an connection to President Claudia Sheinbaum to nonstop the U.S. service crossed the border.

Sheinbaum declined the connection and has made it wide that her authorities volition ne'er judge immoderate benignant of involution that would interruption Mexico’s sovereignty.

Former Mexican ambassador to US describes Trump’s connection arsenic an ‘in your look F… You’

Sheinbaum was asked astir Trump’s connection astatine her Tuesday greeting property conference.

“You already cognize what my sentiment is. We’re not [like] Santa Anna. We ever person to support [Mexico’s] sovereignty,” she said.

Former president Antonio López de Santa Anna is wide blamed for Mexico’s 19th-century territorial losses, though helium was not successful bureau erstwhile the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed.  

Apart from Sheinbaum, assorted different high-profile Mexicans responded to Trump’s connection connected the Mexican-American War.

🔴“No somos Santa Anna”: así reaccionó la presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum al comunicado de la Casa Blanca conmemorando la guerra México-EU; “hay que defender la soberanía”, añadió.pic.twitter.com/LMw5eoI1I3 https://t.co/aJ5fl8ODiy

— Azucena Uresti (@azucenau) February 3, 2026

“Never, successful the caller annals of Mexico-U.S. relations had we seen thing similar this,” Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico’s ambassador to the United States from 2006 to 2013, wrote connected X.

“This is not lone spiking the shot successful the extremity zone; it’s an successful your look F… You,” helium wrote.

Well-known governmental expert and columnist Denise Dresser besides took to X to remark connected Trump’s Feb. 2 message.

“The adjacent clip Tyrians and Trojans, morenistas [Morena enactment members and supporters] and no morenistas applaud Trump and observe erstwhile helium speaks good of Claudia Sheinbaum, retrieve what helium said yesterday astir the United States penetration successful the 19th century,” she wrote.

“He inactive sees Mexico arsenic territory to beryllium conquered, not arsenic a partner. He volition proceed to look for ways to intervene,” Dresser wrote.

Trump has offended and antagonized Mexicans connected galore erstwhile occasions, including with his infamous 2015 declaration that Mexicans entering the U.S. are “bringing drugs” and “bringing crime” and “they’re rapists.”

But his connection connected Monday, arsenic The Guardian enactment it, “touched a humanities nervus successful Mexico” arsenic the Mexican-American War “has agelong been a humanities sore spot for Mexico.”

Tony Payan, a Mexico adept astatine Rice University successful Houston, told The Guardian that Trump, with his message, “is rubbing Mexico’s chemoreceptor successful what is fundamentally a precise heavy coiled successful Mexico’s history.”

That, Payan said, contempt Mexico being “a state that has done thing but cooperate with U.S. interests connected each levels.”

Historians measurement in 

In a study published connected Tuesday, the Associated Press wrote that Trump’s connection “makes nary notation of the cardinal relation slavery played successful the [Mexican-American] warfare and glorifies the wider ‘Manifest Destiny’ period, which resulted successful the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Native Americans from their land.”

Alexander Aviña, a prof of Latin American past astatine Arizona State University, told AP that Trump’s connection “underplays the monolithic amounts of unit that it took to expand” the United States to the Pacific Ocean.

“U.S. governmental leaders since past person seen this arsenic an disfigured facet of U.S. history, this is simply a beauteous wide lawsuit of U.S. imperialism against its confederate neighbor,” helium said.

In contrast, “the Trump medication is really embracing this arsenic a affirmative successful U.S. past and framing it — inaccurately historically — arsenic immoderate benignant of antiaircraft measurement to forestall Mexico from invading them,” Aviña said.

He besides said that the connection issued by the White House connected Monday seeks “to asseverate rhetorically that the U.S. is justified successful establishing its alleged ‘America First’ argumentation passim the Americas.”

Albert Camarillo, a past prof astatine Stanford University, described Trump’s connection arsenic a “distorted, ahistorical, imperialist version” of the Mexican-American War.

“This connection is accordant with truthful galore others that effort to whitewash and reframe U.S. past and erase generations of humanities scholarship,” helium told AP.

With reports from The Guardian and AP