President-elect Donald Trump announced Sunday that he intends to nominate Massad Boulos, a billionaire businessman from Lebanon who is also father-in-law to Tiffany Trump, to serve as senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.
Boulos’ son, Michael Boulos, has been married to Trump’s daughter Tiffany since 2022.
Trump announced Boulos as his pick for the advisory position in a post shared to his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday.
“Massad is an accomplished lawyer and a highly respected leader in the business world, with extensive experience on the International scene,” Trump wrote. “He has been a longtime proponent of Republican and Conservative values, an asset to my Campaign, and was instrumental in building tremendous new coalitions with the Arab American Community.”
His post went on to describe Boulos as “a dealmaker, and an unwavering supporter of PEACE in the Middle East,” who “will be a strong advocate for the United States, and its interests.”
The selection comes as Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance continue their transition into the White House ahead of January’s inauguration. Boulos will likely play a role in how Trump approaches Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza, which has triggered conflicts with Lebanon and Iran while threatening to spread more widely throughout the region. The Biden White House announced last week that it had helped broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, although both Israel and Hezbollah have accused the other of violating the agreement. Negotiations for a similar deal with Hamas have long been stalled.
Boulos already helped spearhead the Trump campaign’s outreach efforts in Arab American communities in the U.S. this year, organizing meetings in Michigan and other states. He is also the second Trump in-law picked to serve in a leadership role in his next administration.
Who is Massad Boulos
Massad Boulos is a Lebanese-American businessman and political associate of Donald Trump. He supported Trump’s presidential campaign in the 2024 United States presidential election and canvassed for the support of Arab Americans, particularly in Michigan.
Boulos was born to a Christian family in Kfaraakka, Koura, Lebanon He moved to Texas as a teenager, where he obtained a law degree at the University of Houston Law Center. His father-in-law was a key funder of the Free Patriotic Movement.
After completing his education, Boulos returned to his family’s business and took over as CEO of SCOA Nigeria, a billion-dollar conglomerate that distributes motor vehicles and equipment throughout West Africa.
Boulos has acted as an intermediary between the Palestinian Authority and its leader, Mahmoud Abbas and Trump.
Boulos has links to Christian politicians and other parties in Lebanon, including Suleiman Frangieh, Hezbollah’s presidential candidate and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) both of which are Christian allies of Hezbollah.
According to a report in As-Safir, Boulos began his political career as an ally of Michel Aoun‘s Free Patriotic Movement, and represented it in Nigeria, where Boulos did business..
Boulos remained allied to Aoun even after he formed an alliance with Hezbollah. Boulos initially stood for parliament in Koura, but withdrew for another list involving the FPM, Marada (Frangieh’s party), and the Lebanese communist party. In 2009, FPM shortlisted him, but Aoun eventually chose another candidate. By 2018, he was a supporter of Frangieh’s Marada.
Lebanese should not be in a hurry to elect a president
During an interview with Lebanon’s LBC TV on Sunday he said that Trump worked on the file of establishing peace in the Middle East and fulfilled his promise to start working on it immediately after his election, and the ceasefire in Lebanon was an achievement achieved by US President Joe Biden in cooperation with Trump.
Boulos pointed out in the interview:
“it is our duty to follow up on the ceasefire agreement and we hope that it will be implemented quickly as we reached it quickly, and the issue of the presidency in Lebanon is thorny and those who have been patient for two years can be patient for two or three more months”
He explained that the” issue of the presidency in Lebanon is important and must be worked on carefully without rushing in an ill-considered manner due to the war, as the ceasefire phase is experimental” and the elections are not our responsibility but the responsibility of Parliament.
Boulos added, “We encourage democratic foundations in Lebanon, rebuilding the country, respecting the constitution, reviving constitutional institutions and extending the authority of the state over all its territories.”
Commenting on the announcement, Lebanese political analyst Ali Hussein told Ya Libnan:” It appears that pretty soon Hezbollah will have. a friend at the White House who may push for the election of its candidate Suleiman Franjieh as the next president. This may be the reason why he wants the Lebanese people not to rush into the presidential election “
CBS/ Wikipedia/ LBC