Trump is reportedly looking to blame Mexico for new coronavirus spikes in the US

• President Donald Trump is reportedly floating a theory that spikes on COVID-19 in several states are a result of travel from Mexico.
• The idea was discussed at a recent meeting of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, two administration officials told the Associated Press.
• Non-essential travel is still banned between the two countries, following an earlier agreement.
• Mexico has far fewer cases than the US, with only 133,000 compared to more than 2 million stateside.
• New coronavirus cases are growing in close to half the states in the US, with the nation suffering more than 115,000 deaths so far.
• Mexico has had about 16,000 deaths.

Returning to one of his most consistent political ploys, President Donald Trump is reportedly looking to scapegoat Mexico for spikes in US coronavirus cases.

The messaging strategy of blaming Mexico instead of states reopening businesses was discussed at length during a recent White House Coronavirus Task Force meeting, according to the Associated Press.

Two administration officials told the AP that the idea was bandied about at the task force's Thursday meeting in the White House Situation Room, with attempts made to tie Mexico to outbreaks as far north as North Carolina.

Non-essential travel between the two countries is still banned under a joint agreement from March.

The virus has taken a much less severe toll on Mexico, with the country seeing only around 133,000 cases and 16,000 deaths compared to more than 2 million cases and 115,000 deaths stateside.

Scapegoating Mexico is nothing new for Trump.

Illegal immigration was central to his 2016 campaign, and hyped up threats of a "caravan" of illegal immigrants coming through Mexico from Central American countries was a major part of his messaging going into the 2018 midterms.