Entertainment Value
Regardless of your other opinions on Donald Trump, he is good for at least one thing in what would otherwise be a rather boring election campaign: entertainment.
And so it was over the weekend after Saudi prince Bin Talal tweeted to Donald Trump “You are a disgrace not only to the GOP but to all America. Withdraw from the U.S. presidential race as you will never win.”
Trump, Saudi Prince Exchange Hostile Tweets
Trump smacked back Your Days Of Buying Off American Politicians Will Be Over If I Am Elected President.
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is returning fire against the Saudi prince who told him to drop out of the White House race.
Trump called billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal “dopey” and accused him of trying to buy U.S. politicians with “daddy’s money” in a tweet late Friday.
“Dopey Prince @Alwaleed_Talal wants to control our U.S. politicians with daddy’s money. Can’t do it when I get elected,” Republican presidential front-runner Donald J. Trump tweeted after the prince told him to end his White House bid.
Has Saudi Arabia Taken Any Syrian Refugees?
The Independent reports Donald Trump calls on Saudi Arabia to take in refugees after spat with Saudi Prince.
Hot on the heels of demanding all Muslims be banned from the US, Donald Trump has called on Saudi Arabia to take in Syrian refugees.
Mr Trump made the demand on Twitter writing: “Has […] Saudi Arabia, taken any of the Syrian refugees? If not, why not?”
The comment comes after Mr Trump became embroiled in a row with Saudi prince Prince Alwaleed, the chairman of Kingdom Holding, who branded the businessman was “a disgrace” and should withdraw from the presidential race following his controversial remarks about the apparent threat posed by Muslims.
Religious Immigration Bans OK Unless It’s Against Your Religion
The Daily Caller notes the hypocrisy of Saudi Arabia in its post Why Won’t The Saudis Who Resent Trump Drop Their Ban On Jews?
The online bickering between Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his fellow billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal over Trump’s proposal to ban Muslim immigration is seeped with irony: For decades, Saudi Arabia has had a near-total ban on granting visas to Jews.
America’s protestations of this blatant bigotry have been largely muted, apparently in deference to the sensibilities our oil-rich ally.
Clearly, the Saudis are not taking a principled stand against religion-based visa discrimination. They think discriminating against a religion is perfectly fine – as long as it’s not their religion.
(To be clear, I abhor Trump’s proposed policy. That does not detract from the outrageous Saudi inconsistency on the matter.)
The Saudi approach is consistent with Muslim attitudes toward “blaspheming” their prophet. During the 2005 controversy over cartoons depicting Mohammad, Muslims around the world claimed it was wrong to criticize people’s religions – but they never objected to images and artwork criticizing Christianity and other non-Muslim religions.
And that’s the point. Most Muslim countries and many of their citizens do not share Western-style values of tolerance and respect. They do not tolerate and respect other religions; they just want special treatment for Islam.
The Democrats and Republicans who have been rushing to attack Trump’s comments about Muslims who visit America would be wise to condemn religion-based discrimination in all parts of the world. And the Saudis could demonstrate that their protests are based on principle rather than self-interest by changing their visa policies and finally welcoming Israelis and other Jews who wish to visit.
I’m not holding my breath.
How this plays out to US voters remains to be seen.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock