President Donald Trump is known for his controversial and inflammatory Twitter account. But Friday’s tweet was a surprise, even for him.
Earlier today Trump tweeted a two-and-a-half-minute video celebrating the release of imprisoned Egyptian-American Aya Hijazi from Cairo with the caption “WELCOME HOME, AYA! #GodBlesstheUSA.” The video starts with the American flag, followed by a rolling screen of an April 20 Washington Post article breaking the news. Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” plays in the background.
The rest of the two minutes are dedicated to elementary-level transition effects between press photos of the president with the rescued Egyptian, her family, and four other rescued humanitarian workers.
Hijazi, 30, is a charity worker who was imprisoned three years ago, along with her husband Mohamed Hassanein. They had been working in Cairo with the Belady Foundation to establish a safe haven for street children. They were arrested in May of 2014 on alleged child abuse and trafficking charges with little to no evidence to back the claims. The Trump administration negotiated for their release with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi.
Some are joking on Twitter that the random compilation looks like the president may have put it together himself, and joking of his potential ignorance on the matter. But hey, it’s the thought that counts:
i'm honestly not sure if trump himself made this https://t.co/GN24W0jSP0
— David Mack (@davidmackau) April 21, 2017
OH in newsroom: “I think Trump edited that himself” https://t.co/N6MSRS80kQ
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) April 21, 2017
"She was in Iraq or Egypt or whatever. Anyways, the chocolate cake was beautiful."
— Pezizales Pizzicato (@DouglasEich) April 21, 2017
Check it out for yourself.