Trump's Favorite Dictator for a Reason: This Is How Egypt's Sisi Could Have Helped Trump Win in 2016

In a CNN investigation into foreign money in Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign as examined by the FBI, the Egyptian President's name was highlighted, reminding the public of Trump's comments about El-Sisi as "his favorite dictator."

According to CNN, the Muller investigation into 2016 election money, and a potential Russian intervention, came over sufficient evidence that a state-owned Egyptian bank had made a last-minute donation of $10 million to the Trump campaign, back in November 2016.

CNN reported that "Part of what drew investigators' initial interest in the matter was intelligence, including informant, that suggested there could have been money from an Egyptian bank that ended up backing Trump's last-minute injection of $10 million into his 2016 campaign, according to two of the sources."

As soon as the report published in Arabic via the CNN Arabic website went viral, Egyptian commentators widely shared it wondering about the source of the money donated to the Trump administration, especially as their country continues to have acute financial struggles often referred to by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Some Egyptian tweets dubbed the report as "the Sisi-gate."

Translation: "This could be a Sisi-gate! We know who could have ordered this transaction, we can also predict names of corrupt officials who could have signed it. "A state-owned Egyptian Bank." Which bank?"

Translation: "The very poor El-Sisi is financing Trump's campaigns"

Over the last several years, El-Sisi has often discussed the economic situation in Egypt, particularly after the Egyptian pound depreciated, saying that citizens need to bear the economic strains facing the country "until it reaches the desired recovery." In November 2017, the Egyptian pound was unpegged to the US dollar and quickly plunged from 9 pounds per dollar to a whopping 15.

Sarcastically, Egyptians also remembered a 2017 comment made by El-Sisi during a conference in which he angrily told Egyptians: "We are very poor," explaining that "citizens shouldn't demand so much from the government before an economic revival."

The millions of dollars worth of donation made to the Trump campaign in 2016 amid the economic troubles suffered by Egyptians have inspired many questions over Egyptian national interest versus that of the president himself, especially as he received full support from the US despite a deteriorating record of human rights standards in recent years.

Translation: "An Egyptian bank was mentioned in the probe into Trump's campaign money in 2016. My favorite dictator..."

Translation: "CNN has just dropped a bombshell report: A $10 million transaction was made by a govt owned Egyptian Bank to support Trump's presidential campaign in 2016. The question is: Did Trump ask all Arab presidents and kings to pay him so they can remain in power as he did with Saudi for $460 billion?"

Some social media users also recalled past comments made by Donald Trump about El-Sisi a year ago as hundreds of Egyptians took to the street against him in September 2019, when Trump expressed support to El-Sisi, calling him "his favorite dictator."

In 2019, Egyptian businessman Mohamed Ali who lives in self-exile in Spain had posted a series of shocking videos about billions of worth projects he had finished for El-Sisi, his family, and friends, accusing El-Sisi of exploiting state money for his personal gains. Ali's claim was challenged by El-Sisi on TV saying that he's "built palaces and will continue to build many more;" saying that he's building a proper image for modern-day Egypt.