For Trump: Get re-elected for life, join, and lead pals
At this
year’s G-7 summit, at least 10 U.S. and three Egyptian officials were awaiting the
arrival of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on the morning of August 26
when Trump looked over a gathering of American and Egyptian officials and
called out in a loud voice: “Where’s my favorite
dictator?”
Several
people who were in the room at the time said they heard the question. The
witnesses said they believed the president made the comment jokingly, but said
his question was met by a stunned silence.
It couldn’t
be determined whether Sisi was present or heard the remark.
The White House
declined to comment. Egyptian officials couldn’t be reached for comment. Even
if lighthearted, Trump’s quip drew attention to an uncomfortable facet of the
U.S.-Egypt relationship.
Sisi has drawn criticism for his authoritarian rule
since taking power following a 2013 coup.
Under Sisi, Egypt has been accused of detaining thousands of political opponents, torturing and killing
prisoners, and stymying political opposition, that according to UN reports and our own State Department, plus several well-known Non-governmental groups (NGO’s).
Noteworthy: The White House has never publicly
admonished the Egyptian government for its human-rights record.
Egypt has defended its actions, saying it is fighting
extremists.
Among those
in attendance at that moment were Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and former
(not fired) National Security Adviser John Bolton, Larry Kudlow, assistant to the president for economic
policy, Rob Blair, a senior adviser to the White House Chief of Staff, and one interpreter.
Egyptians in
the room included Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and Abbas Kamel,
Egypt’s chief of the General Intelligence Service (GIS),
Within
minutes of the quip, Sisi arrived and met with Trump and reporters were allowed
in. Trump, in his usual BS flip-flopping style, knowing what we know about
Egypt and their human rights abuses, among his other comments, celebrated his
relationship with Sisi, noting that the two leaders had begun talking with each
other soon after Mr. Trump won the presidential election in 2016.
Trump has said: “We
understood each other very well. He’s a very tough man, I will tell you
that. But he’s also a good man, and he’s done a fantastic job in
Egypt. Not easy.”
Trump also in 2017 hosted Sisi’s first White House
visit since he took power. Constitutional amendments, passed by parliament
earlier this year, allow Sisi to serve multiple terms (ego: a true dictator for sure).
In a press
release after the bilateral meeting, Egypt gave no hint of any tension with
Sisi’s press office saying: “President
Trump expressed his appreciation for Egypt and President El Sisi as well
as the development that Egypt has witnessed to realize security and
stability as well as growth, in spite of regional instability.”
My 2 cents: This incident once again shows Trump at
his worse - opening his mouth and inserting foot with no idea of the impact of
his words, then backtracking and fluffing this category of other world leader
with kindness and friendship (his brand) by extolling his ties to well-known authoritarians.
Those like his #1 BFF Russian President Vladimir Putin, or Chairman Kim, Jung-un,
or Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, or newest lifer, Chinese President
Xi Jinping, and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. All those men are flavors that Trump adores and seeks
to equal them with terms in office and yet with stronger status and power, or
so it seems.
Trump once even said about Xi Jinping over his move to
end presidential term limit: “Maybe we’ll
have to give that a shot someday.” (March
4, 2018 story).
Pucker up and congrats on lifetime achievement
Trump is incorrigible to the umpteenth degree and
shames us practically on a daily basis and more so on the world stage like no
president ever before in American history – a fact Trump will not brag about I
am sure.
Thanks for stopping by.
No comments:
Post a Comment