{"id":648513,"date":"2017-04-05T04:05:13","date_gmt":"2017-04-05T04:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2017\/04\/05\/reactions-to-el-sisis-us-visit\/"},"modified":"2017-04-05T04:05:13","modified_gmt":"2017-04-05T04:05:13","slug":"reactions-to-el-sisis-us-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2017\/04\/05\/reactions-to-el-sisis-us-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"Reactions to El Sisi\u2019s US visit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coverage of \u2014 and reactions to \u2014 the White House meeting between President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Donald Trump continue to dominate foreign coverage of Egypt. Don\u2019t expect anything interesting or fresh here: Opinions are split into camps supporting Trump (and hence lauding the meeting) and the liberal media\u2019s disdain of both men.<\/p>\n

The <\/strong>New York Times\u2019 editorial board<\/strong><\/a> was true to form<\/strong>, grumbling about Trump\u2019s failure to raise the issue of human rights and (rightfully) pointing to the injustice that is the pre-trial detention of Aya Hijazi. The NYT board did temper the rhetoric when they said that El Sisi\u2019s economic reforms would benefit all Egyptians.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Senior US administration officials confirmed to <\/strong>Reuters<\/strong><\/a> that the Hijazi case did not come<\/strong>up at the meeting<\/strong>. However, Nikki Haley, America\u2019s UN ambassador, noted that the Trump administration was not backing away from human rights \"because they fully support me speaking about human rights in the Security Council.\"<\/p>\n

Other outlets ran with shameless odes to Obama<\/strong> (CNN<\/a>) and outright vitrol (pseudo-journalists at Vox<\/a> and Salon<\/a>). Want to take a swipe at Trump, El Sisi or Egypt? At least have the intellectual chops to construct an argument that holds water, as do The Intercept\u2019s Glenn Greenwald<\/a> and the Washington Post\u2019s Jennifer Rubin<\/a>, who make the case that there\u2019s really no difference between how Obama and Trump handle human rights.<\/p>\n

Conservative outlets, including the <\/strong>Conservative Review<\/strong><\/a>, see Trump\u2019s embrace of El Sisi<\/strong>as a victory in the war against radical Islamists<\/strong>, a view reflected in newspapers closer to home. UAE-based <\/strong>The National\u2019s editorial<\/strong><\/a> board was full of praise<\/strong>: \u201cThe UAE has recognised a simple and [indisputable] fact: a strong Egypt means a strong Middle East\u2026 Given our close relationship with Egypt, it is encouraging to see our allies take a similarly warm tone with Mr El Sisi\u2019s government\u2026 Mr Trump underlined Egypt\u2019s role in fighting extremism and establishing stability across the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n

That said, former Israeli foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami urged the Trump administration<\/strong> not to designate the Ikhwan as a terrorist group<\/strong> in a column for Project Syndicate<\/a>. Although he acknowledges the have \u201cnot always fully embodied democratic values,\u201d he warns that political exclusion can foster radicalism.<\/p>\n

Overall, the visit is \u201ccertainly successful\u201d from El Sisi\u2019s point of view<\/strong>, Samuel Tadros tells Bloomberg TV<\/a>. The photo-op in Washington shows that he is \u201can accepted leader,\u201d a \u201cpartner\u201d for the US, and that he is taken seriously and accepted around the world. Tadros, however, does not believe the trip might result automatically in meeting all of Egypt\u2019s demands in terms of increasing military aid and trade (runtime 03:01).<\/p>\n

Other coverage of Egypt worth noting in brief:<\/p>\n