President-elect Donald Trump has once again selected a family member to join his administration. This time, he has chosen his daughter Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law as a senior Middle East adviser, following his decision to appoint his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s father as ambassador to France the day before.
The individual chosen is Massad Boulos, a billionaire businessman and the father of Trump’s son-in-law Michael Boulos. Trump revealed that Massad Boulos, who hails from Lebanon and manages Boulos Enterprises in Nigeria, which specializes in producing and distributing mechanical equipment and motorcycles, will serve as the White House senior adviser on Arab and Middle East affairs.
Massad Boulos visits The Great Commoner, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Dearborn, Mich.
AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File
In a statement on his Truth Social media platform, Trump praised Massad Boulos as an accomplished lawyer and notable figure in the business world with considerable international experience. He highlighted Boulos’ longstanding support for Republican and Conservative values, his valuable contribution to Trump’s campaign, and his role in fostering strong new connections with the Arab American Community.
Trump added, “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.”
During the final stretch of Trump’s victorious presidential campaign, Boulos appeared with him at campaign stops in Dearborn, Michigan, an Arab American stronghold, and was praised by Trump for helping him flip Michigan from a blue to a red state.
“Obviously the No. 1 point that is of high priority within the Arab American community is the current war in the Middle East,” Boulos told The Associated Press in June. “And the question is, who can bring peace and who is bringing war? And they know the answer to that.”
In September, Boulos met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, the New York Times reported. Palestinian officials told the Times the meeting was part of an outreach effort to Trump, but Boulos told the newspaper that it was “purely personal” and that he didn’t inform Trump about it before or after.
Boulos also has close contacts in the Lebanon political world and made an unsuccessful run in 2018 for a seat in Lebanon’s Parliament.
As a young man, Boulos moved to Texas, where he obtained a doctorate in jurisprudence at the University of Houston. After earning his law degree, he joined his family’s business, rising to CEO.
Michael Boulos and Tiffany Trump, the daughter of Trump and his second wife, Marla Maples, were married in November 2022 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. While campaigning in Detroit in October, Donald Trump announced the couple was expecting their first child.
The announcement of Boulos being picked as a White House senior adviser came a day after Trump picked billionaire real estate developer Charles Kushner to serve as ambassador to France. Kushner is the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who served as a senior White House adviser during Trump’s first term as president.
Jared Kushner is married to Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka.
Charles Kushner pleaded guilty in March 2005 to assisting in the filing of false tax returns, retaliating against a cooperating witness and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
Trump granted Kushner a pardon in December 2020.
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