Did the Madman actually expect Nieto would agree to pay for his wall?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

That's not a rhetorical question.

Really, did Donald Trump honestly think the Mexican president would say, sure, I'll slap down billions of dollars just to pay for an American border wall?

[Grammy23]

1. Actually, I don't think he cared so much about Mexico paying for the wall as he did

for Nieto to just stop saying publically that they weren't paying for it. With access to the US treasury (or his imagined access) he figured one way or another, the financial end of things would get worked out.

No, it was his enormous ego at stake. He just wanted the appearance of having Mexico knuckle under to trump's demands that they pay for the wall. As long as he got the look he was going for, tRump didn't care whose purse got rifled to pay for the fooking wall. (Thank you, Vicente Fox for that term for trump's wall.).

[GusBob]

2. No he wanted him to give the appearrance that he would pay for it. A sham for the press

He seemed to indicate he would work out some deal for real payment.

In other words lie about it and the lie some more

[dawnie51]

3. Of course not.....

it was a scam like everything else he does. He just expected Nieto to remain silent, and let him blather on about them paying for a wall. Nieto ruined all that, by speaking up publicly. Now the rubes have to deal with the fact that he knowingly lied about it, or he's just so pathetic that he can't bend Mexico to his will. Because the rubes really thought this was an option. They're pathetic.