Again! Trump Congratulates Egypt’s El-Sissi After Rigged Reelection Win

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - MAY 21: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY MANDATORY CREDIT - "BANDAR ALGALOUD / SAUDI ROYAL COUNCIL / HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----)US Presid... RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - MAY 21: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY MANDATORY CREDIT - "BANDAR ALGALOUD / SAUDI ROYAL COUNCIL / HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----)US President Donald Trump, US First lady Melania Trump (2nd R), Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (2nd L) and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (L) put their hands on an illuminated globe during the inauguration ceremony of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 21, 2017. (Photo by Bandar Algaloud / Saudi Royal Council / Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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President Donald Trump on Monday congratulated yet another strongman ruler, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi (above, left), for winning “reelection” despite the suppression of el-Sissi’s political opponents.

“President Donald J. Trump spoke today with President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi of Egypt,” the White House said in a readout of Trump’s call with el-Sissi Monday. “President Trump congratulated President Al Sisi on his reelection. The two leaders affirmed the strategic partnership between the United States and Egypt, and noted that they look forward to advancing this partnership and addressing common challenges.”

El-Sissi won his reelection bid with 97 percent of the vote, Egypt’s election commission announced Monday. The next highest vote-getter, with 3 percent of the vote, was a supporter of the president. All other challengers, as several media outlets have pointed out in recent months, were arrested or pressured to drop out of the race months ago.

El-Sissi began his rule after leading a military coup in 2013 against then-President Mohamed Morsi.

Last month, Trump similarly congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his reelection, reportedly despite an urgent note from advisers in his briefing materials: “DO NOT CONGRATULATE.”

Opposition activists and election observers said they observed fraud in the Russian election, and Putin’s most well-known critic in the country, Alexei Navalny, was barred from running against him.

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