Trump, Sheinbaum to meet face-to-face for first time Friday

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and President Donald Trump are set to meet in person for the first time Friday.

Sheinbaum is going to Washington, D.C., to attend the 2026 World Cup draw. Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will also be in attendance at the event — the three countries are jointly hosting next year’s FIFA soccer tournament.

Sheinbaum told reporters that she would have a “little meeting” with Trump that day.

As the three countries prepare for the World Cup, they also approach a possible renegotiation of the trade deal that binds them next summer.

“It’s going to be a very brief meeting with President Trump, but the objective is to see how we can keep working together,” Sheinbaum said.

Mexico has been able to avoid the worst of Trump’s tariff threats, but Sheinbaum says she hopes to work with him to decrease new tariffs on specific industries — like automobiles, steel and aluminum.

The two presidents’ first face-to-face meeting also comes as U.S. military warships linger off the coast of Venezuela and observers wonder if U.S. strikes inside that country are imminent.

Trump has said he would consider strikes on Mexico if it helped stop the flow of drugs into the United States. Sheinbaum has long said she will “collaborate and coordinate” with the United States on security issues, but won’t allow unilateral military action in her country.

“He knows our position,” Sheinbaum said. “We believe they should respect international law and the people’s right to sovereignty and self determination.”