EGYPT/FOREIGN DIGNITARIES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump welcomed Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, to the White House on Tuesday [4-9-19], and bestowed on his ally what he most eagerly sought: a ringing endorsement of his strongman rule. Mr. el-Sisi, 64, a former general who took power in a military coup in 2013, is seeking to amend the Egyptian Constitution to allow him to run for two more six-year terms, which would keep him in power until 2034. When Mr. Trump was asked about the amendments, he professed not to know anything about them, but declared: ‘I can just tell you he’s doing a great job. Great president.’ Mr. el-Sisi’s visit came on the same day that another key ally of Mr. Trump’s in the Middle East, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, was facing voters in a tight election. In the weeks leading up to that vote, the president tried to shore up Mr. Netanyahu’s fortunes with a series of gestures, chief among them American recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.”
–Mark Landler, “Egypt’s President, Hoping to Be Allowed to Stay in Office Until 2034, Basks in Trump’s Embrace,” The New York Times online, April 9, 2019