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Later, to avoid destructive tariffs threatened by Mr. Trump, Mexico deployed a new security force, the National Guard, to police its borders and prevent migrants from passing into the country. That concession shifted the forces away from the reason they were created — to fight the spiraling violence engulfing the nation.

But although Mr. López Obrador’s concessions helped upend decades of established asylum policy, he paid little price in the polls. His astronomic approval ratings at the time — around 70 percent or higher — barely budged.

Mr. López Obrador has shown a remarkable talent for reading the Mexican electorate and for making choices that, while deeply upsetting to his critics, have done little to dampen his overall public support.

Even today, with coronavirus infections soaring and the death toll roughly five times higher than the government’s initial estimates, Mr. López Obrador still enjoys nearly 60 percent approval ratings, according to a recently published average of several polls.

“The average Mexican is only interested in putting food on the table, and so in that sense this visit is the last thing that worries Obrador’s supporters,” Iliana Rodríguez, a professor of international relations at the School of Government at Tec de Monterrey, said of the Trump meeting.

Mr. López Obrador has made clear that his primary focus is domestic. Appeasing Mr. Trump means the American president is less likely to interfere in domestic issues — or to punish Mexico with economic measures like tariffs.

“López Obrador put his money on a strategy of détente, and ironing out tensions with our biggest commercial partner and the world’s most powerful country,” said Jorge Volpi, a novelist and columnist in Mexico.