The whiff of money transcends all else during this presidential transition.
Not only has U.S. president-elect Donald Trump appointed the wealthiest cabinet in the history of the United States, but he has now cleared the air with one of his fiercest critics who also happens to be Mexican and the secind richest person in the world – telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim.
In October, Trump had accused Slim, a major shareholder in the New York Times, of being personally involved in articles about women who alleged that the property tycoon made unwanted sexual advances toward them. Slim had made no attempt to hide his disdain for the businessman, especially after Trump’s attacks on Mexican immigrants, whom he referred to at the beginning of his campaign as “rapists.” In disgust, Slim’s Ora TV, a production company he founded together with TV personality Larry King, cancelled a program it was working on with some of Trump’s companies.
Amazingly, all the animosity miraculously vanished this week as Slim dined with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “A lovely dinner with a wonderful man,” was how the president-elect described the encounter. Meanwhile, Slim gushed about how wonderful it would be if Trump was successful in managing to grow the U.S. economy.
Despite his misgivings about Trump’s character, it naturally behooves Slim to stay on the good side of the most powerful man on earth. He certainly would not like to see any of his extensive business dealings in the United States threatened by any personal bitterness. Trump, for his part, may see Slim as the perfect ally for negotiating with the Mexican government, which has vowed to take a tough line on immigration and trade matters that adversely affect this country’s citizens.