President Michel Aoun congratulated U.S. President-elect Donald Trump last week and called his election a “bright hallmark in the history of democracy.”
“Your election restores the people’s will in choosing their rulers,” Aoun wrote in a letter to President-elect Trump. “This is a new chance for Lebanon and the U.S. to boost their bilateral cooperation.”
Aoun said he hopes a Trump administration will build strong ties with the Mediterranean country.
“It’s a (new chance) for the sake of achieving peace in the Middle East, confronting terrorism, and putting an end to wars and violence through peaceful means,” Aoun added.
Aoun’s senior advisor and president of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, compared Trump’s unprecedented victory to Aoun’s victory. Aoun was elected president eight days before the U.S. election.
Two dates America will never forget:
11/9 & 9/11…
Two dates Lebanon will never forget : 13/10 & 31/10— Gebran Bassil (@Gebran_Bassil) November 9, 2016
“9/11” represents the terrorist attacks in New York on Sept. 11, 2001, while “11/9” represents the day Trump was elected U.S. president. “13/10” represents the onset of the military occupation of Syria and Aoun’s defeat, while “31/10” is the day Aoun was elected president.
MP Alain Aoun also compared the elections on Twitter, posting: “Two unconventional presidential candidates opposed by the traditional political class have won the elections thanks to popular will.”
He later deleted the tweet, and said it was misinterpreted.