Writers In Qatari Media Rejoice At Trump's Electoral Defeat

 

Following Joe Biden's victory in the U.S. presidential election, the Qatari media published many expressions of joy at the electoral defeat of outgoing President Donald Trump. Many of the writers stressed that they are pleased by this defeat more than by the victory of his rival Biden. They maligned Trump and his policies, which they said harmed the entire world, and especially condemned his policy toward Qatar, saying that he had "sold" this country to its rivals - Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain - and allowed them to boycott it throughout his term in office. The Qatari press published cartoons mocking Trump for being ousted from the White House and consigned to the "trash bin of history."

The following are translated excerpts from some of these responses.

 
Cartoon in Qatari daily: "Trump's end": the world consigns him to "the trash bin of history" (Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, November 8, 2020)

Qatari Writer: Glad To Be Rid Of Trump, Hope Biden Will Fix His Mistakes

In a November 9, 2020 column titled "Congratulations, Joe" in the Qatari daily Al-Sharq, Ibtisam Al-Sa'd rejoiced at the defeat of Trump, who caused America "to lose its prestige," and expressed hope that his successor, Joe Biden, will mend his mistakes. She wrote: "Biden won! Although I did not foresee this victory… I am glad that we are rid of Trump, a president who unfortunately excelled at demagogy but was unable to take responsibility for actions… [These actions] were also the basis of his country's relations with most of the other countries in the world, which entered into a [state of] cold war with the U.S., and Trump was the main reason for this. In addition, his policy [involved] withdrawing his country from most of the international treaties and caused it to lose its prestige, and the world soon began to ascribe America's poor leadership on fateful issues to Trump's deficient management… It is too early to judge Biden's policy… but we certainly hope that he will restore things to their proper course, for he seems to be determined to fix the mistakes of his predecessor, one by one."[1]

On November 5, 2020, even before the election results were definite, Ibtisam Aal Sa'd tweeted: "By Allah, I will rejoice if [Trump] loses."[2]

Cartoon in Qatari daily: "The Statue of Liberty sweeps Trump out of the White House" (Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, November 7, 2020)

Columnist For Qatari Daily Al-Sharq: We Rejoice At Trump's Loss

In her November 9 column in the Qatari daily Al-Sharq, Noura Al-Musaifari wrote that Biden's election by the American nation reflects "the greatness of that nation, which stuck to its principles and upheld them by voting freely against a president steeped in racism and hatred, who, from the moment he submitted his candidacy [for the presidency] until today has violated everything [the Americans] believe in." She added: "The joy of victory, which burst out all over the world on Saturday night [November 7], was not a celebration of the next [president], but was intended to annoy the current [president] and rejoice at his defeat. We indeed rejoice at the defeat of the current president, who dishonored his own country even more than he dishonored the Muslim countries. He humiliated his people, and his people retaliated by humiliating him and voting him out of office, and therefore in January 2021 he will leave the White House, as is customary [in America]. In my opinion, if it was up to the [American] people, they would have prevented him [from ruling] even during his remaining time [in office], for he is unfit [to rule]…

"God preserve the U.S. and its people. The world welcomed the defeat of President Trump, to an unprecedented extent, as reported in the new and traditional media. Praise Allah, defeater of tyrants, who has defeated the creator and operator of the Arab puppets [i.e., the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain], who permitted the laying of a siege on my country and supported those who besieged it, and, like a speculator, sold out the noble rights and values in return for [UAE] dirhams and [Saudi] riyals. [Praise Allah who cast him] into the dark pits of history, where he belongs…"[3]

Cartoon in Qatari daily: "Trump refuses to recognize the election results" (Al-Sharq, Qatar, November 8, 2020)

Al-Quds Al-Arabi Writer: We Wanted The Ouster Of Trump And His Gang Of Zionists And White [Supremacists] Racists

Palestinian journalist 'Abd Al-Hamid Siam, who lives in the United States, made similar remarks in an article titled "Our Joy At Trump's Departure Is Not Due To Love For Biden," published November 8 in the London-based Qatari daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi. He wrote: "We who voted for Biden did not do so due to love for him or his personality or due to faith in his path, but due to a desire to be rid of Trump and his gang of Anglicans [apparently a reference to Evangelicals], Zionists and white [Supremacist] racists. Our happiness has nothing to do with the victory of Biden, who has described himself as a Zionist even though he is not Jewish. But we do wish to celebrate the fall of the tyrant, who resembles the leaders of the developing world who are in favor of elections when they serve them and doubt their [results] if they do not serve their interests… This president harmed all the peoples, first and foremost the American people, in all its ethnic, cultural and economic sectors…"[4] 

Siam's article in Al-Quds Al-Arabi

The former director-general of Al-Jazeera, Yasser Abu Hilala, retweeted a photo of the Qatari Emir, Tamim bin Hamad, with President-Elect Joe Biden, and wrote: "Qatar's relations with the U.S. were very strained in Trump's period. They deteriorated with the outbreak of the Gulf crisis, when Trump implicitly accused Qatar of supporting terror. Then they improved following intensive diplomatic efforts. Under Democratic [administrations], the relations always remained warm, despite the points of contention, about which we 'agree to disagree.'"[5]

Abu Hilala's tweet

Qatari Muslim Brotherhood Activist: Qatar Suffered Greatly Because Of Trump

Qatari Muslim Brotherhood activist Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Al-Shinqiti reposted old tweets by Trump accusing Qatar of supporting terror, and commented: "No country except Palestine suffered from Trump's injustice more than Qatar. From the first day [of his presidency] Trump sold out Qatar to the despicable members of the 'Arab Likud'[6]  and to the counter-revolutionary [countries, i.e., the countries boycotting Qatar: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain], while giving them the green light to impose a discriminatory siege on Qatar throughout his term in office. This is because Trump wanted collaborators, rather than allies, and he found what he was looking for in those insolent people of Abu Dhabi, the fools of Riyadh and the Pharaohs of Egypt."[7]

Al-Shinqiti's tweet