The Latest: Trump phones Mexican leader after earthquake
By Associated Press
Sep 20, 2017 11:58 AM CDT
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)   (Associated Press)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):

12:45 p.m.

President Donald Trump spoke to the president of Mexico on Wednesday in the aftermath of a massive earthquake that struck that country.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Trump "had a lengthy call" with Enrique Peña Nieto.

More than 220 people have been confirmed killed by the 7.1 magnitude earthquake, which struck Tuesday.

It is Mexico's deadliest earthquake since 1985. Rescue workers are digging through rubble of collapsed schools, homes and apartment buildings looking for survivors.

Trump received some criticism for waiting three days to call Peña Nieto after a previous earthquake struck Mexico earlier this month.

Trump blamed it on the Mexican president's poor cell service in a mountainous region.

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10:01 a.m.

President Donald Trump and the King of Jordan are vowing to continue working together to fight terrorism in the Middle East.

The meeting was the first of several scheduled for Trump in New York along the sidelines of the United Nations on Wednesday.

Trump touted the ties between the two nations, saying "never has the relationship been better than it is right now."

He also praised King Abdullah II's efforts to take in a wave of refugees from war-torn Syria.

In turn, the king praised the two nations' "special relationship" and denounced terrorism as "a scourge around the world."

Trump and the king have forged close ties and the Jordanian leader assured the president that his nation would "always stand beside you and your country."

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8:00 a.m.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry says President Donald Trump's United Nations speech may have put America in isolation and danger.

Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show Wednesday, Kerry criticized Trump's harsh rhetoric against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Kerry said, "You have to ask yourself: Is America safer because of 'rocket man?" He was referring to Trump's characterization of Kim.

Kerry said that kind of harsh language will make it harder for the United States to engage in diplomacy on North Korea and other international issues.

Kerry also charged that Trump emphasized his "America First" mantra mostly to please his supporters at home rather than the world community. "You give a speech at the United Nations to bring people to the table," he added.

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3:40 a.m.

President Donald Trump has vowed to "totally destroy North Korea" if the U.S. is forced to defend itself or its allies against the renegade nation's nuclear weapons program, making his case in a combative debut speech to the U.N. that laid out a stark, good-vs-evil view of a globe riven by chaos and turmoil.

Trump's broadsides Tuesday against "rogue regimes," North Korea chief among them, drew murmurs from the assembled world leaders and served as a searing salute to his nationalism during diplomatic prime time. He said it was "far past time" for the world to confront Kim Jong Un, declaring that the North Korean leader's pursuit of nuclear weapons poses a threat to "the entire world with an unthinkable loss of human life."

"Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime," Trump said, mocking the North Korean leader even as he sketched out potentially cataclysmic consequences. The president himself decided to work the nickname into his speech just hours before he took the dais, according to aides.

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