- Title: Mixed reactions in Egypt to Trump's election victory
- Date: 9th November 2016
- Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (NOVEMBER 9, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF NILE RIVER IN CAIRO BOAT ON NILE POLITICAL ANALYST, HESHAM KASSEM IN APARTMENT (SOUNDBITE) (English) POLITICAL ANALYST, HESHAM KASSEM, SAYING: "It's not going to be driven by ideology or by principle, but each individual case, depending. He's had the first intentional phone call from President Sisi this morning congratulating him, and an invitation to come over. It'll probably mean better foreign-dual relations between Egypt and the United States than had Hillary made it, but again, the anchor of Egyptian-American relations has always been the Pentagon and the Ministry of Defense, the CIA and the Intelligence, that has been the consistent part of Egyptian American relations." STREET IN DOWNTOWN CAIRO SCHOOL STUDENTS STANDING IN STREET (SOUNDBITE) (English) STUDENT, ALI NABIL, SAYING: "I was planning to emigrate to America for some jobs, but the choice of the United States' people of Trump, mainly will affect my decisions, because Trump is mainly racist, he made this very clear in his first presidential debate, he hates Muslims whether he admits it or not, he's afraid of Arabs." TRAFFIC ON CAIRO BRIDGE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) EGYPTIAN CITIZEN, AMR, SAYING: "I think Mr. Trump was a bit impulsive in his statements regarding Muslims and I would hope that he would be a bit pragmatic in the implementation of his politics." NILE RIVER VEHICLES ON CAIRO BRIDGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) CITIZEN, AMY SALEM, SAYING: "I don't know, I mean it seems our government is quite friendly with Trump and it's been quite obvious that they've been supporting him, so you know, I'm hoping that it would just mean things would get quite friendly again, as opposed to how hostile it has been recently." VARIOUS OF BOAT ON NILE RIVER
- Embargoed: 24th November 2016 16:58
- Keywords: USA Elections Donald Trump Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
- Location: CAIRO, EGYPT
- City: CAIRO, EGYPT
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA00157Q7S5J
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Political analyst in Egypt, whose President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was the first world leader to congratulate Donald Trump on his U.S. election victory on Wednesday (November, 9), believes relations with U.S. will be better with Trump than they would have been with his rival Clinton but ordinary Muslims show reservations.
Clinton, Secretary of State during the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, is unpopular with many Egyptians. Many of those who backed the revolt saw her as a long-standing supporter of Hosni Mubarak, the autocrat they toppled from power.
Supporters of Sisi, however, consider her too sympathetic toward the Muslim Brotherhood, which won Egypt's first free elections following the revolt. Sisi ousted the Brotherhood in 2013 following protests.
Political Analyst, Hesham Kassem said that Sisi's call and the invitation extended to Trump heralded better relations between the two countries.
"It's not going to be driven by ideology or by principal, but each individual case, depending. He's had the first intentional phone call from President Sisi this morning congratulating him, and an invitation to come over. It'll probably mean better foreign-dual relations between Egypt and the United States," Kassem said.
On the campaign trail, Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the country after a shooting spree by two Muslims.
The comments drew fire from American Muslims who said his stance had fuelled an atmosphere where people may feel they can openly voice prejudice.
Although some Egyptians shrugged off the president-elect's anti-Muslim rhetoric, many expressed concern.
One student in Cairo, Ali Nabil said he was planning to emigrate to the U.S. but Trump's victory will affect his decision.
"Trump is mainly racist, he made this very clear in his first presidential debate, he hates Muslims whether he admits it or not, he's afraid of Arabs," he said.
Another Cairo resident, Amr, hoped Trump would change his policies now that he is in office.
"I think Mr. Trump was a bit impulsive in his statements regarding Muslims and I would hope that he would be a bit pragmatic in the implementation of his politics."
"I'm hoping that it would just mean things would get quite friendly again, as opposed to how hostile it has been recently," another Cairo resident Amy Salem said.
Sisi, who held a friendly meeting with Trump during a visit to New York in September, said he hoped the business magnate's election would breathe new life into U.S.-Egyptian ties.
Egypt has close ties to the United States from which it receives military aid to cement its 1979 peace deal with Israel. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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