Fox News guest speaks 'directly' to Trump during bizarre segment

Fox News guest addressing Donald Trump directly.

(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/atrupar)

published 9 April 2018

If you want to have a word with the president, you don't necessarily have to go through Chief of Staff John Kelly first. Fox News guest Bassam Rifai demonstrated some clever resourcefulness Monday when he simply turned to look into the network's camera and said: "President Trump, I am speaking to you directly."

Trump is, by all appearances, an enthusiastic viewer of Fox News, with his fiery tweets often following segments on the network. Rifai, a member of the Syrian American Council, used his moment in the spotlight to advocate for military strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "Do not make the same mistakes that President Obama had made," Rifai said. He urged, "What we need to do right now is take out Assad's air force. If we ground all his air force, he won't have the capability to attack Syrians by the air anymore."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox