It was another dizzying day in Washington, dominated by Donald Trump's decision to threaten a trade war with Mexico after the Mexican President, Enrique Pena Nieto cancelled a scheduled visit to Washington next week.
He says Mexico won't pay for the wall that Donald Trump wants to build along America's southern border.
President Trump says one way or another the Mexicans will pay for the barrier's construction, even if the US has to levy a 20% tax on imports from its traditional ally.
On top of that, a top White House adviser to the President called the news media "the opposition party" in the US.
And into the whirlwind, the British Prime Minister Theresa May carefully stepped.
Our Washington Correspondent Simon Marks reports.
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6 days into President Trump's administration and the US suddenly finds itself on the skids with Mexico.
24 hours after the President signed executive orders to kick-start the construction of the wall he promised his supporters he would build…..
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The Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said he won't travel to Washington next week for scheduled White House talks with Donald Trump.
The US President, speaking to Republican members of Congress gathered at a retreat in Philadelphia, tried to portray the whole thing as a mutual decision.
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But that may prove to be one of the "alternative facts" in which this White House likes to traffic.
Just like the suggestion - widely shared with reporters - that the President planned to impose a 20 per cent tariff on imports from Mexico….a construct that White House spokesman Sean Spicer indicated would satisfy Donald Trump's promise to get Mexico to pay for the wall.
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But….as analyst after analyst pointed out that a 20 per cent tax would simply lead the Mexicans to raise their prices by 20 per cent….it dawned on the White House that it would be Americans consumers who buy Mexican avocados, limes, tequila and automative parts who would, in reality, end up paying for the wall.
So now the White House say it was just floating the idea.
It is, not, apparently, US policy.
In other news, Donald Trump's top adviser….Presidential counselor Stephen Bannon….gave an inflammatory interview to The New York Times.
He called the news media "the opposition party" in America….and despite the first amendment to the US Constitution that guarantees the right to free speech, he decreed that reporters should "keep their mouths shut".
That led CNN anchor Jake Tapper to bring this newsflash to the network's viewers.
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Into this whirlwind, the British Prime Minister Theresa May has flown.
On Friday morning here she will become the first foreign leader to meet Donald Trump in the White House…and then hold a joint news conference with him.
She wants him to prioritize a bilateral trade deal between the US and a UK poised to leave the European Union.
The good news for her: he's willing to do it.
The bad news….well he delivered that himself to Republicans in Philadelphia.
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Given the pace of events here, it is a brave foreign leader who agrees to met President Trump….especially in light of a TV interview in which he expressed admiration for torture….and reports circulating here now that suggest the White House may be preparing to lift sanctions against Russia.
For Mrs. May, and other governments interacting with the Trump administration there is the potential for reward….but there is also substantial risk as well.
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