Mexican president exits Trump embrace smiling, Democrats grumble

FILE PHOTO: Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador walks with U.S. President Donald Trump as they arrive at a signing ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 8, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Defying warnings that to seek out Donald Trump was to court disaster, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador instead emerged from their first meeting as a "cherished friend" of his U.S. counterpart, even as some Democrats looked on uneasily.

The spectacle of Lopez Obrador and Trump lavishing praise on each other on Wednesday was a far cry from the tension that has plagued bilateral ties since the American launched his bid for power in 2015 with repeated threats and jibes against Mexico.