President-elect Donald Trump has announced that Massad Boulos will serve as his senior presidential adviser on Arab affairs.
In a post to Truth Social on Dec. 1, Trump wrote that Boulos “has has been a longtime proponent of Republican and conservative values, an asset to my campaign, and was instrumental in building tremendous new coalitions with the Arab American community.
“Massad is a dealmaker, and an unwavering supporter of PEACE in the Middle East. He will be a strong advocate for the United States, and its interests, and I am pleased to have him on our team!”
In the role, Boulos will be the primary adviser for both domestic and foreign affairs that affect Arabs. However, foreign concerns will likely be most pressing when Boulos enters the role amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group.
That war, which began on Oct. 7, 2023, after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, has stoked fears of a larger regional conflict.
Trump ran on a policy of global peace, expressing a priority to end conflicts that began over the past four years.
In his capacity as Arab adviser, Boulos will likely be a crucial player in Trump’s efforts to prevent the Israeli–Hamas conflict from escalating. Trump has blamed the conflict on the Biden administration, which Trump accuses of enabling Iran by reducing sanctions.
Michael Boulos, the nominee’s son, is married to Tiffany Trump, the president-elect’s youngest daughter.
The senior Boulos is a Lebanon-born billionaire with experience in global manufacturing. The family’s wealth comes from Boulos Enterprises, a Nigerian distribution and assembly company that deals in small vehicles such as motorcycles, power bikes, and tricycles.
Boulos was also a leading contributor to the Trump campaign. He led outreach to Arab Americans in the Rust Belt, particularly in the crucial swing state of Michigan.
In the Great Lakes State, historically the most pro-Democrat of the three Rust Belt states, support for Democrats waned due to lingering dissatisfaction among Arab voters with President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel–Hamas war.
Boulos, a known voice in the Arab American community, assisted with stoking this dissatisfaction: Trump ultimately won Michigan by 1.4 percent amid mass defections among Arab Americans to third party candidate Jill Stein and to Trump—a larger margin than he received in Wisconsin, historically the most conservative of the Rust Belt trio.
This is developing and will be updated.
From The Epoch Times