On the recordApril 4, 2017
I couldn't agree more. Already we are starting to see the influence of China in most of the countries in South America. You know, I had a conversation with one of the presidents of the colleges in Colombia on one of my trips. He was telling me how the influence of China in Colombia is so strong. He was telling me that the second most studied language in Colombia today is Mandarin. When you think of that, that is a frightening thought. You talk about the influence in Nicaragua of the Chinese. They even think of building a canal, which many people think will never happen. But to have China so close to our borders is not good for America. To push away our neighbors is not good for America. We must work with our neighbors. People don't realize the amount of economic activity between the United States and the rest of Central America and Mexico. I read something very funny the other day. Well, it is not funny, but it is really sad. They were discussing this wall that the President proposes. Some people say: Where are we going to put it? In the middle of the river? Or are we going to put it on the American side and give the river to Mexico? Or are we going to go invade Mexico and put the wall on the Mexican side and keep the river to ourselves? So I thought that was telling of the difficulty.
