US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Lebanese-born billionaire Massad Boulos as his senior advisor for Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. Boulos is also the father-in-law of Trump’s daughter, Tiffany Trump. The president-elect made the announcement on Truth Social, highlighting Boulos’s legal and business expertise.
Trump wrote, “I am proud to announce that Massad Boulos will serve as Senior Advisor to the President on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs. Massad is an accomplished lawyer and a highly respected leader in the business world, with international Has extensive experience on the scene.” Truth on Social.
“He has been a longtime supporter of Republican and Conservative values, which are 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,” Trump concluded.
-Donald J. Trump posts from his Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) 1 December 2024
Earlier, Trump had given a diplomatic role as Ambassador to France to his daughter Ivanka Trump’s father-in-law Charles Kushner.
Who is Massad Boulos?
Born in Lebanon, Massad Boulos moved to Texas as a teenager to pursue higher education at the University of Houston. His professional journey began in Nigeria, where he joined his family’s automotive business, eventually rising to leadership positions at SCOA Motors and Boulos Enterprises.
Some reports suggest that Mr Boulos unsuccessfully contested a parliamentary seat in Lebanon in 2009 and maintains ties with the country’s Christian political elite – partly fueled by his father-in-law’s alliance with the Free Patriotic Movement, Hezbollah. Because of the financial support of a Christian party. Mr Boulos has denied these claims.
In an October 2024 interview with Newsweek, he said he was not affiliated with any party in Lebanon, although he acknowledged that he is “familiar with most Lebanese Christian leaders”, including Hezbollah-backed presidential candidates. Were. He also denied earlier reports by Arab News and AP about his reported parliamentary candidacy.
In an interview with the AP in June, Mr. Boulos described himself as a “friend” of Suleiman Frangieh, the leader of Lebanon’s Marada movement, whose presidential bid is backed by Hezbollah. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who had supported Frangieh in 2023, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut later in September.
Mr. Boulos’s father and grandfather were influential figures in Lebanese politics, and his father-in-law was a significant financial supporter of the Free Patriotic Movement, a Christian party affiliated with Hezbollah.
More recently, Mr. Boulos played a major role in Donald Trump’s campaign, focusing on garnering support from Arab American voters in key states such as Michigan. He has also served as a key mediator between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Trump, facilitating communications in the months before the election, Axios reports.
Michael Boulos, son of Massad Boulos, and Tiffany Trump were married in an elaborate ceremony at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida in November 2022, following their engagement in the White House Rose Garden during Trump’s first term.
