Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi was warmly welcomed to the White House on Monday, four years after he assumed power in a military coup.
During a brief sit down in front of reporters, President Trump described his relationship with Sisi as “very close,” and added that the US was “very much behind” the controversial world leader.
The new administration’s invitation and effusive praise for the former general marks a shift from the prior US president’s posture—at least optically.
Sisi took power in Cairo in 2013, deposing the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi, the first democratically elected leader in Egyptian history.
The coup was met with some resistance in Washington via human rights criticisms and a hold on $1.3 billion in military assistance. Relations between the US and Egypt quickly stabilized behind the scenes, however, even as reports of mass arrests, disappearances, and a brutal crackdown on Sisi’s opposition spread.
By November 2014, the US State Department was partnering with the Chamber of Commerce and sending business delegations to Egypt.
“The United States is committed to strengthening its long term strategic and economic partnership with Egypt,” State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said at the time, during an economic development conference in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Months later, in March 2015, President Obama had begun loosening the restrictions on military aid to el-Sisi’s government, allowing for the shipment of jets and tanks.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry also regularly met with President el-Sisi, discussing matters of security cooperation and peace in the region.
Yet Sisi was never invited to the White House. And at times, the US State Department did use its organs to criticize Cairo’s human rights record under Sisi—a topic that was unaddressed during Monday’s public meeting at the White House
“You have a great friend and ally in the United State and in me,” Trump told Sisi.
The non profit organization Human Rights Watch criticized the Egyptian president’s visit.
“Inviting el-Sisi for an official visit to Washington as tens of thousands of Egyptians rot in jail and when torture is again the order of the day is a strange way to build a stable strategic relationship,” said Sarah Margon Washington director at Human Rights Watch.
Demonstrative praise for the problematic Egyptian ruler isn’t exclusive to the Trump administration. It has been regularly peddled by the rightwing fringe, over the past few years.
“I hope one day that our top leaders in this country will have the courage of president el-Sisi in Egypt and they will reflect, as general el-Sisi has, the will of the people of their country,” Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said on the House floor in January 2015.
