In the Arab world this morning #Trump #TrumpWins and #ElectoralCollege were all trending as Republican Candidate Donald Trump has been announced as the winner of the American Presidential Elections, and the new President of the United States.
For some Arabs on social media, the only response to the surprise victory, which has gone against expectations and the majority of the polls, was the use of an appropriate emoji, whether that was happy:
ترامب فااااااااز.#ترامب
—Asmaa.H.T#N9 (@asmaa_so1) November 9, 2016
"#Trump ...Trump wins!!!!"
Or sad:
#ترامب
— سبحان الله (@mauor31) November 9, 2016
"#Trump"
Certainly, Arab opinion was divided on Twitter this morning as to whether Trump’s victory was a good or a bad thing, and one analyst commented that:
No polls in Arab world but I noticed a pattern: Many 'mainstream' Islamists rooted for Clinton; many Arab nationalists rooted for Trump.
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) November 9, 2016
The religiosity-Clinton supporting correlation might hold true as it certainly seemed on Twitter that for many, Trump’s victory had pushed them to call for divine help:
#ترامب
— نآصر العنزي (@nasser_alenazi1) November 9, 2016
الله يعين العالم
“May God help the world”
اللهم اكفنا شره وشر ماجبل عليه#ترامب
— صيـتــه (@seetah_otb) November 9, 2016
“Please God protect us from his evil, and the evil of what he wants to do”
Others made apocalyptic predictions:
رسميا: #ترامب رئيسا لأمريكا.
— عاصم النبيه (@AsemAlnabeh) November 9, 2016
الحلقة الأخيرة بدت يا شباب :D
"Official: # Trump, president of America.The final episode has begun guys: D"
Or plans to travel:
#ElectionNight المجمع الانتخابي pic.twitter.com/bUXYWCqGLt
— Ahmed Azzam (@AhmedAzzam2A) November 9, 2016
The biggest question for Arabs after this unexpected victory is what will the future hold for the Middle East. People expressed their predictions:
#كلينتونvsترامب
— #آدم (@Alhilalsaudi57) November 9, 2016
قراءتي للمشهد في الشرق الاوسط بعد فوز #ترامب
* مزيد من الصراعات في العراق
** بقاء الاسد في السُلطه
*** استمرار حرب اليمن
"# Clinton vs Trump My reading of the scene in the Middle East after the victory of #Trump
*More conflicts in Iraq
**Assad stays in power
***Continuation of the war in Yemen"
#المجمع_الانتخابي ترامب هيفشخنا اول ناس
— الايم (@Mohamed06109021) November 9, 2016
"He will cleave us apart first of all"
المهم سيادة الرئيس #ترامب احفظ نعهدك ومزّق وألغي #الاتفاق_النووي_الايراني ولتخضع #ايران منشأتها للتفتيش الدولي وان تتعهد بالاستعمال السلمي
— Omar Alloqmani (@omarghd) November 9, 2016
"It is important, Mr. President #Trump Protect our promise, tear and cancel #IranianNuclearDeal and subject the #Iran facility to international inspection and force them to undertake peaceful use"
With a considerable divergence of opinion, some of course took to critiquing their fellow Arabs for their opinions on the election:
بعض العرب مع #ترامب ينطبق عليهم المثل الشعبي : جاك الموت يا تارك الصلاة !#كلينتونvsترامب
— تركي الغامدي (@TURKIOALGHAMDI) November 9, 2016
"Those Arabs who are with #Trump, the following popular proverb applies to them: whoever neglects prayer, death is coming for him. #Clinton vs Trump"
الناس اللى بتقول ترامب هيفشخنا هى يعنى كلينتون بتبيع سبح #المجمع_الانتخابي
— mohamed sobhi (@Muhamad90759962) November 9, 2016
"Those people who are saying that Trump will cleave us apart, what do they expect, Clinton would be handing out prayer beads? #ElectoralCollege"
Nonetheless, there were those who supported Trump:
ارحب يا #ترامب
— د . أكاديمس (@hdooa90) November 9, 2016
"I welcome you, #Trump"
There was a feeling among some that he was a “more honest demon”
#ترامب #ترامب_رييسا_لامريكا #فوز_ترامب عدو ظاهر العداوة، أفضل من عدو مبطن عداوته كأوباما وكلينتون
— Roa'a. (@Ra_ii8) November 9, 2016
"The enemy whose hostility is clear, better than the enemies who concealed their hostility, Obama and Clinton"
#ترامب فاز في الإنتخابات الأمريكية يعني أننا سنتعامل مع أمريكا الحقيقة بقيمها الزائفة، دون قناع أو نفاق، أهلاً بترامب وجه امريكا الحقيقي
— أحمـد (@Ahme60) November 9, 2016
"#Trump won the US elections meaning that we will deal the real America, with its deceptive values, without a mask or hypocrisy, welcome to Trump, the real face of America"
While the world focused on the American elections, however, some took the opportunity to apologize to Aleppo and Mosul for failing to concentrate on the horror unfolding there:
#ترامب
— فائز البكري (@Abotmmam23) November 9, 2016
عذراً يا #موصلُ يا #حلبُ
لم يبقٓ بأمتنا عربُ
*
الكل يراقب #أمريكا
من سوف يفوز ويُنتخبُ
*
هل يدرك قومي أنّهمُ
للفائز بالكرسي حطبُ !؟
"#Trump
Apologies to #Mosul #Aleppo
There remain no Arabs in our motherland
Everyone is watching #America
Who will win and be elected
Do my people not realize
That we will be the firewood for the winner?"
RA
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