For the second time in as many days, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he will choose another family member for his administration, choosing his daughter Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law. Senior Middle East Advisor A day after Jared Kushner’s son-in-law was chosen to serve as ambassador to France.
Billionaire businessman Massad Boulos, father of Trump’s son-in-law Michael Boulos, will serve as Trump’s senior White House adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. announced on his Truth Social media platform. Born in Lebanon, Massad Boulos runs Nigeria-based Boulos Enterprises, which manufactures and distributes mechanical equipment and motorcycles.
“Massad is an excellent lawyer and a highly respected leader in the business world with extensive experience on the international stage,” Trump wrote. “He has been a longtime advocate of Republican and conservative values, an asset to my Campaign, and was instrumental in building new coalitions with the Arab American Community.”
MANHATTAN, NY – SEPTEMBER 4: Dr. Massad Boulos, father-in-law of Tiffany Trump, sits for a portrait at the Wall Street Hotel in New York on September 4, 2024. (Photo by Jeenah Moon for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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Trump added: “Massad is a deal maker and a steadfast 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.”
During the final leg of Trump’s triumphant presidential campaign, Boulos appeared with him at campaign stops in Dearborn, Michigan, an Arab American stronghold, and Trump praised him for helping to turn Michigan from a blue state to a red state.
“Obviously, the first point of high priority within the Arab American community is the current war in the Middle East,” Boulos said. The Associated Press in June. “And the question is, who can bring peace and who brings war? And they know the answer to that.”
In September, Boulos met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The New York Times reported. Palestinian officials told the Times that the meeting was part of an outreach effort to Trump, but Boulos told the newspaper it was “purely personal” and that he did not inform Trump about it before or after.
Boulos also has close connections in the Lebanese political world, and ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Lebanese Parliament in 2018.
As a young man, Boulos moved to Texas, where he earned a juris doctorate from the University of Houston. After graduating in law, he joined his family’s business, becoming CEO.
Michael Boulos and Tiffany Trump, Trump’s daughter and his second wife, Marla Maples, were married in November 2022 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. While campaigning in Detroit in October, Donald Trump announced that the couple were expecting their first child.
In this file photo, Charles Kushner arrives at the funeral of Ivana Trump in New York on July 20, 2022.
John Minchillo/AP
Boulos’ selection as a senior White House adviser was announced a day after Trump chose billionaire real estate developer Charles Kushner to be ambassador to France. Kushner is the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who served as a senior White House adviser during Trump’s first term as president.
Jared Kushner is married to Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka.
Charles Kushner pleaded guilty in March 2005 to aiding and abetting the filing of false tax returns, retaliating against a cooperating witness and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
Trump pardoned Kushner in December 2020.
