Rabat - Numerous public figures throughout the Arab world have expressed their shock at the polling results that saw Republican Donald Trump elected as America’s 45th president.
Rabat – Numerous public figures throughout the Arab world have expressed their shock at the polling results that saw Republican Donald Trump elected as America’s 45th president.
While the Arab World generally did not see Hillary Clinton as an American president that would help solving the issues in the Middle East, particularly in view of her deep connections with Israel, Hillary was regarded as the lesser of two evils owing to the rampant bigotry that marked Trump’s electoral campaign.
Since then a number of Arab intellectuals and public figures have come out with statements on social media.
In a tweet shortly after the results were announced, business magnet and investor, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, congratulated Trump for being democratically elected by Americans:
“President elect Donald Trump whatever our past differences, America has spoken, congratulations & best wishes for your presidency,” stated Al-Waleed bin Talal.
This statement follows the fiery exchange between the two in November of 2015, when the Saudi Prince stated that Trump “was not only disgrace for the GOP but all of America” and asked Trump to withdraw from the election because he “will never win.” Trump tweeted the following in response:
“Dopey Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal wants to control our U.S. politicians with daddy’s money. Can’t do it when I get elected”
Prominent Syrian media figure Faisal Al-Kassim, chose sarcasm to express his view on his Facebook fan page, “They say that America’s new President Donald Trump is crazy. He’s crazy and made a wealth of billions of dollars. I hope I had 5 percent of his craziness.”
Famous Egyptian Al Jazeera anchor, Ahmed Mansour, issued a number of posts following the election results. In one of these posts he stated:
“After someone like Abdel Fattah el-Sisi came to power, why do you marvel at Trump becoming president? This is an era of crazy, mad and heretic rulers.”
On a sharper note, Palestinian public intellectual and political philosopher, Azmi Bishara, chose to criticize the Arab world for considering the poll results decisive for its fate:
“Whoever does not serve his own interests no one will help him, not the results of the American elections nor other results. No American election results can be in favor of this nation.”
The Kuwaiti writer, historian, businessman and Muslim scholar, Tareq Al-Suwaidan, predicteded that Trump would “destroy America, destroy the Republican Party, Destroy America’s relations with Arab World, Destroy America’s international relations, and Arabs will withdraw their money from the US.”
Renowned Egyptian-Swiss Academician and philosopher, Tariq Ramadan, commented on Trump’s election campaign and took to Facebook prior to the results:
“Eventually the winner of the US election is the word ‘dirty.’ Dirty campaigns, dirty words, dirty slogans, dirty politics, dirty calculations. Whatever the result, the future does not seem so clean and bright. Sad times, bad times… dirty times”
Abdel Bari Atwan, eminent public figure and the editor-in-chief of the London-based digital news and opinion website, Rai al-Youm, stated in an article he published earlier Wednesday that Trump’s win is a punch in the face of “the US ruling establishment and its favorite and pampered representative Hilary Clinton.”
Atwan added that Trump also defeated the American “mighty media empires and practically proved the falsity and lack of credibility of the opinion polls.”
Edited by Connie Guindon
