President Trump Meets With Egyptian President Al-Sisi

WASHINGTON, DC — President Trump met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi Monday at the White House. Though the meeting appeared to go smoothly overall, many criticized Trump for appearing to sideline human rights concerns.

"I just want to let everybody know, in case there was any doubt, that we are very much behind President al-Sisi," Trump said in front of reporters ahead of their private meeting. "He's done a fantastic job in a very difficult situation. We are very much behind Egypt and the people of Egypt. And the United States has, believe me, backing, and we have strong backing."

Under President Obama, Al-Sisi never visited the White House, though he met with other leaders whose countries were accused of human rights violations.

According to the State Department, Al-Sisi's Egypt has serious problems when it comes to excessive force by officials, lack of due process and suppressed civil liberties:

Excessive use of force included unlawful killings and torture. Due process problems included the excessive use of preventative custody and pretrial detention, the use of military courts to try civilians, trials involving hundreds of defendants in which authorities did not present evidence on an individual basis, and arrests conducted without warrants or judicial orders. Civil liberties problems included societal and government restrictions on freedoms of expression and the media, as well as on the freedoms of assembly and association in statute and practice.

Trump did not mention these concerns in his public remarks.

“Inviting al-Sisi for an official visit to Washington as tens of thousands of Egyptians rot in jail and when torture is again the order of the day is a strange way to build a stable strategic relationship,” said Sarah Margon, Washington director of Human Rights Watch, ahead of the meeting.

“Our approach is to handle these types of sensitive issues in a private, more discrete way,” a White House official told Fox 40 ahead of the meeting. “We believe it’s the most effective way to advance those issues to a favorable outcome.”

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said at his Monday press briefing that he would not comment on whether or not Trump brought up human rights concerns privately with Al-Sisi.

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