Iraqi Intellectual Hassan Al-'Alawi: I Like Trump, He's a Patriot; I Want Someone Like Khamenei to Rule Iraq

Iraqi intellectual Hassan Al-'Alawi said that he liked U.S. President Trump for his patriotism and that he would like "someone like Khamenei to rule us here." "My country comes first," he told the Baghdad TV interviewer. "Iraq First!" The interview aired on March 1.

Hassan al-'Alawi: "I like Trump."

Interviewer: "Why do you like him?"

Al-'Alawi: "Because he is a patriot."

Interviewer: "What do you see in him?"

Al-'Alawi: "Don't expect a foreigner to serve you. A foreigner should serve his own country. Why do I always talk about Iran with respect? I want someone like Khamenei to rule us here. He lives in a dilapidated house, he never eats, and never drinks. How come their turbaned sheikhs are okay and ours are thieves? How come they build a nuclear reactor and we kill Iraqi army officers and let them starve to death?"

Interviewer: "Where does the problem lie?"

Al-'Alawi: "In the absence of patriotic sentiment. The problem is that people here are not as patriotic as Trump. Trump says 'Why should I accept a million ISIS members who want to enter illegally? Let them go to hell or whatever. Let them go back to their countries. My country comes first!'

"Iraq first! Not the Persians first. Not the Turks first. Not the Americans first. My country comes first! This is Trump's way. The Trump approach should drive out all those conscienceless, unpatriotic people. Trump is a patriot. He defends his patriotism and American identity."