Dubai Businessman Says He Regrets Backing Trump After Muslim Ban

Mr Khalaf Al Habtoor Hosted in Atlanta by Former President Carter for a Tour of the Carter Center (PRNewsFoto/Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor) THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED BY PRNewsfoto and is for EDITORIAL USE ONLY**
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Khalaf Al Habtoor, a billionaire from the United Arab Emirates who backed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, told NBC News Tuesday that he regrets supporting the real estate mogul after he proposed a ban on Muslim immigration.

Al Habtoor, who chairs the Al Habtoor Group conglomerate, expressed his support for Trump in an August op-ed for The National, an English-language newspaper published in the UAE. In it, he wrote that he thought “Mr. Trump is a man who wants America to be great again.”

“He believes in bringing back his country’s superpower status, has guts, determination and, most of all, is a true patriot,” Al Habtoor wrote.

But the Dubai businessman walked those comments back Tuesday after Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the U.S.

“When he was talking about Muslims, attacking them … I had to admit I made a mistake in my supporting Mr. Trump,” he told NBC News. “He is creating a hatred between Muslims and the United States of America.”

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