--- description: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said he he has "no doubt" that GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump would make a strong leader title: Egyptian President: 'No Doubt' Donald Trump Would Be a Strong Leader image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8fa06dcbf1013eb0/6988a6f1428a9efddbcd455a/abdel-fattah-el-sisi-trump-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 Election](/tag/2016-election/) ## 2016 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Egypt's Sisi Says 'No Doubt' Donald Trump Would Make Strong Leader  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 21, 2016 12:44 PM CUT  President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi addresses the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters, Sept. 20, 2016 in New York City. President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi addresses the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters, Sept. 20, 2016 in New York City.Drew Angerer/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 21, 2016 12:44 PM CUT Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said he he has “no doubt” that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump would make a strong leader. In an[ interview that will air on Wednesday night](http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2016/09/21/egypt-president-el-sisi-trump-eb-sot.cnn "undefined"), CNN’s Erin Burnett asked the former military general for his thoughts on Trump, whom he met in New York this week, and the Republican’s [plan to ban Muslims](http://time.com/4366912/donald-trump-orlando-shooting-muslim-ban/ "undefined") from certain countries from entering the U.S. if elected. “The United States in general conducts very strict security measures for everyone who wishes to visit it, which has been in place for quite a few years,” Sisi said. “It’s also important to know that during election campaigns many statements are made and many things are said, however afterwards governing the country would be something different. And will be subject to many factors.” Sisi [met with both Trump and Clinton](http://time.com/4499600/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-meeting-sisi-egypt/ "undefined"), separately, in New York this week. Clinton is not expected to change U.S. policy toward Egypt if she becomes president, but some human rights advocates worry that Trump would forge closer ties with Sisi, whose brutal clampdown on Islamists and political opponents in Egypt has been widely criticized. Asked if he thought Clinton would make a good president, Sisi voiced back-handed approval. “Political parties in the United States would not allow candidates to reach that level unless they are qualified to lead a country the size of the United States of America,” he said. \[[_CNN_](http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2016/09/21/egypt-president-el-sisi-trump-eb-sot.cnn "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4502537/egypt-sisi-trump-strong-leader/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4502537/egypt-sisi-trump-strong-leader/"},"headline":"Egypt's Sisi Says 'No Doubt' Donald Trump Would Make Strong Leader","datePublished":"2016-09-21T12:44:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:43:51.624Z","description":"He met with both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in New York this week","url":"https://time.com/4502537/egypt-sisi-trump-strong-leader/","keywords":["2016 Election","Hillary Clinton","2016 Election topic","Egypt","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8fa06dcbf1013eb0/6988a6f1428a9efddbcd455a/abdel-fattah-el-sisi-trump-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8fa06dcbf1013eb0/6988a6f1428a9efddbcd455a/abdel-fattah-el-sisi-trump-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"World Leaders Gather In New York For Annual United Nations General Assembly","caption":"World Leaders Gather In New York For Annual United Nations General Assembly","creditText":"Drew Angerer/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4502537/egypt-sisi-trump-strong-leader/","name":"Egypt's Sisi Says 'No Doubt' Donald Trump Would Make Strong Leader"}}]}] ```