Obama's half-brother says he's voting for Trump
President Obama's older half-brother, Malik Obama, is on the Trump Train.
"I like Donald Trump because he speaks from the heart," he told The New York Post. "'Make America Great Again' is a great slogan. I would like to meet him." Malik Obama now lives in the rural Kenyan village of Kogelo, but is still registered to vote in Maryland, where he worked as an accountant for several years. He said he plans to return to Maryland in November to vote for Trump, who he believes is "providing something new and something fresh."
The 58-year-old said he's been a Democrat his entire life, but was "disappointed" by his brother's tenure, upset by FBI Director James Comey recommending not prosecuting Hillary Clinton over her use of a private server while secretary of state, and bothered by same-sex marriage. "I feel like a Republican now because they don't stand for same-sex marriage, and that appeals to me," he said. Trump was quick to tout the endorsement, tweeting that Malik Obama was "probably treated badly by president — like everybody else!"
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Malik Obama, who has called the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi one of his best friends, didn't meet his brother until 1985, and now runs a charity named after their father, which he says raises money to help their family village. He also is said to have at least three wives, including a woman he married in 2011 when she was a teenager, but would not reveal how many children he has. In 2013, he lost his bid to become governor of the southwestern Kenyan county of Siaya. "I don't think politics is my thing," he told The Post. "Honestly, I'll be happy when my brother is out of office, and I will finally be out of the limelight and be able to live like a human being."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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