Donald Trump defends right to build huge wall

On Mexican soil for the first time as the Republican presidential nominee, a firm but measured Donald Trump defended the right of the United States to build a massive border wall along its southern flank, standing up for the centerpiece of his immigration plan in a country where he is widely despised.

Trump, who previously derided Mexico as a source of rapists and criminals, praised Mexicans Wednesday as "amazing people" following a closed-door meeting at the official residence of the country's president, Enrique Peña Nieto. Trump and the Mexican president, who has compared the New York billionaire to Adolf Hitler, addressed reporters from adjacent lecterns before a Mexican flag.

The trip, 10 weeks before America's presidential Election Day, came just hours before Trump was to deliver a highly anticipated speech in Arizona about illegal immigration. That has been a defining issue of his presidential campaign, but also one on which he's appeared to waver in recent days

With political risks high for both men, Trump stayed on script, declining to repeat his promise to force Mexico to pay for a wall along the border between the two countries when pressed by reporters.

While he and Peña Nieto talked about the wall, Trump said they didn't discuss who would pay for a cost of construction pegged in the billions.