Trump met his favorite Middle East strongman. What happened next will not surprise you.
By Ishaan Tharoor September 20 at 2:15 PM
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On Monday evening, Trump met the Egyptian president in New York on the sidelines of the sessions at the U.N. General Assembly. It was his second face-to-face encounter as presidential nominee with a foreign leader — the first occurred when he jetted to Mexico City to meet President Enrique Peña Nieto, a publicity stunt that seems to have backfired on the Mexican president.
Sissi also sat down with Trump's rival for the White House, Hillary Clinton. According to an aide, the Democratic candidate and former secretary of state "emphasized the importance of respect for rule of law and human rights." Trump, though, seemed less concerned. He is on record lamenting the democratic uprisings that shook Egypt in 2011 and led to the departure of longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak. And after the sit-down with Sissi, Trump's campaign issued a glowing statement.
"Mr. Trump expressed to President el-Sisi his strong support for Egypt’s war on terrorism, and how under a Trump Administration, the United States of America will be a loyal friend, not simply an ally, that Egypt can count on in the days and years ahead," it said.
The words "democracy," "human rights" and "rule of law" do not appear in the text. This shouldn't be surprising. Trump has been conspicuous in his celebration of strongmen and decisive leadership, no matter how problematic their governance may be. He claims to have an affinity with Russian President Vladimir Putin, backs Sissi's crackdowns and even advised the Washington establishment to curb its criticism of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's widespread purge following a failed coup this summer.
This has angered leading figures in the Washington foreign policy establishment. "Since taking power via a military coup three years ago, President Sisi has overseen not only the complete reversal of Egypt’s nascent democratic transition but also unprecedented human rights abuses," states a letter circulated last Friday, signed by a coterie of leading Middle East experts. "It is not in our interest to embrace him but to use our influence to press for beneficial change in Egypt."
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/09/20/trump-met-his-favorite-middle-east-strongman-what-happened-next-will-not-surprise-you/
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A pox on the republican 'leaders' and conservative pie holes that spent decades training the electorate to believe that what Cowardly Donald spews is indeed making America great again.
Donald, the Cowardly Liar
