Trump responds to 'dopey' Saudi billionaire

Republican candidate Donald Trump has responded to remarks made by Saudi billionaire Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, who had called him a 'disgrace' following xenophobic anti-Muslim statements.

MENA

2 min read

Nada Ramadan

12 December, 2015

Bin Talal had described Trump as a 'disgrace' following anti-Muslim remarks [AFP]

Donald Trump has called a Saudi billionaire "dopey" after the prince described him as a "disgrace" and said he should pull out of the race for the White House.

Prince al-waleed bin Talal, an unusually outspoken member of the Saudi royal family, had reacted to the Republican presidential frontrunner's proposal earlier this week that all Muslims should be temporarily barred from entering the United States.

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Trump's tweet came after bin Talal, known to be a devout but moderate Muslim, criticised what his office called Trump's "anti-Islam statement."

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Bin Talal chairs Kingdom Holding Co. The diversified firm's interests include US banking giant Citigroup.

Trump has been slammed both in the US and abroad for his Muslim plan, which followed a shooting rampage by a Muslim couple in San Bernardino, California, which left 14 dead.

'Selective love'

On Friday, Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef spoke to CNN about Trump's "selective kind of love".

"I think Donald Trump hates Muslims unless they have very deep pockets," he said.

Youssef had also posted a number of tweets criticising the Republican billionaire.

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On the same day, the website for Trump Towers, his skyscraper in New York, went offline for at least an hour after hacking group Anonymous denounced the billionaire's anti-Muslim views.

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One of Trump's Middle Eastern partners supported him despite the backlash, calling him a "friend" who was "trying to gain political mileage out of these statements".

"I think what he is saying is not in the best interests of the relationship between him and the Muslim world," Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker told CNN's Richard Quest on Thursday.

The Qatari official added that he had warned the Republican billionaire that he may not be welcome in Muslim countries where he has investments, due to his statements.