President-elect Donald Trump’s appointee to advise him on Center East affairs, Massad Boulos, is reported to have vital discrepancies between his public profile and documented enterprise background, casting doubt on the thoroughness of the previous president’s vetting course of.
Company data reviewed by the New York Instances reveal that Boulos, father-in-law to Tiffany Trump, is steadily described as a billionaire mogul, however really manages a truck dealership in Nigeria that generated lower than $66,000 in revenue final 12 months. The corporate, SCOA Nigeria PLC, is valued at roughly $865,000, with Boulos’s private stake value simply $1.53, in accordance with the securities filings within the Instances report.
The advisory place, which doesn’t require Senate affirmation, follows Boulos’s distinguished function in Trump’s 2024 marketing campaign outreach to Arab American voters, significantly in key swing states like Michigan. Boulos positioned himself as a vital middleman, serving to Trump navigate complicated political sentiments inside Arab American communities – and doing Arab-language interviews with media within the area.
Whereas Boulos has been lively in Arab American political circles, his murky enterprise background and lack of diplomatic and coverage experience raises questions concerning the depth of the vetting course of carried out by Trump’s group – who have been additionally stated to be caught-off guard by accusations in opposition to Pentagon nominee Pete Hegseth.
Through the marketing campaign, Boulos pounded the pavement in Michigan to tout Trump’s overseas coverage document, claiming he was “the one president in fashionable US historical past who didn’t begin any wars”, regardless of Trump resupplying Saudi Arabia with an arms package deal, together with precision bombs and munitions, for its brutal battle in Yemen.
Boulos’s political connections are multifaceted. He’s reported to keep up relationships with numerous Lebanese political figures, together with Christian politician Sleiman Frangieh, an ally of Hezbollah whom the militant group endorsed for president.
Boulos’s personal background contains a failed parliamentary run in Lebanon in 2009. It was his son Michael’s marriage to Tiffany in Mar-a-Lago in 2022 that considerably elevated the household’s political profile.
A Could assembly with dozens of Arab American leaders in Michigan highlighted the challenges of Boulos’s political positioning. The gathering, which included Trump adviser Richard Grenell, reportedly turned tense when Grenell repeated controversial feedback about eradicating Palestinians from Gaza’s “waterfront property”, inflicting frustration amongst attendees.
Trump introduced the appointment on Reality Social in early December, describing Boulos as “a talented negotiator and a steadfast advocate for PEACE within the Center East”.
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If appointed, Boulos would inherit a Center East in profound disaster, with Israel’s damaging and greater than year-long battle in Gaza resulting in not less than 45,000 useless Palestinians and worldwide arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, former protection minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas chief Mohammed Deif. The portfolio additionally features a new period for Syria as rebels toppled longtime autocrat Bashar al-Assad and war-torn Lebanon with ongoing strikes between Hezbollah and Israel.
The appointment additionally follows a sample of Trump deciding on family-connected people for key positions, with Boulos becoming a member of Ivanka Trump’s father-in-law, Charles Kushner, who was named because the potential US ambassador to France.
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