Trump welcomes new Iraqi PM to the White House

President Donald Trump welcomed Iraq’s new prime minister to the White House on Tuesday after strongly backing the political neophyte in his bid for office.

Ali al-Zaidi, a businessman with no political background, emerged as a consensus candidate in Iraq after months of deadlock over the premiership following last year’s parliamentary elections. When al-Zaidi was formally installed as prime minister-designate in April, Trump said in a social media post that it was the “beginning of a tremendous new chapter between our Nations - Prosperity, Stability, and Success like never seen before.”

But Trump’s interest and involvement in the next leadership in Iraq began long before that statement. Iraq’s dominant parliamentary bloc, the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shiite parties allied with Iran, initially said it would back former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whom the Trump administration views as too close to Tehran.