Getty Trump is more more popular with Middle Eastern leaders compared with former president Barack Obama

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The stark admission from Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri, suggests that the rapturous welcome that Mr Trump received during his recent tour of the Middle East was genuine. Mr Hariri blasted Mr Obama for his “naiveté” during his tenure as American president and the gap between his “inspirational rhetoric” and his actions. In a recent interview with Politico, Mr Hariri laid bare how the region feels about the current and former US presidents.

Despite Mr Trump’s alleged ties to Russia - which have led the FBI to launch a probe into whether or not his team colluded with the Kremlin to influence the 2016 US elections - Mr Hariri blames Mr Obama for Russia’s growing influence in Syria. He says that Mr Obama’s “inaction” to interfere in the region led Russia to win in the country ruled by Bashar al-Assad. He added: “The unfortunate consequence of not acting has been Russia’s restoration as a regional heavyweight, the resurrection of Bashar Assad’s bloody regime in Syria and the failure to produce an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal."

Getty Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri said Mr Trump shows more leadership than Mr Obama

He says Mr Obama was taken in by Assad and the Russians when he made a deal with them in 2013 to remove chemical weapons. He thinks this was the wrong thing to do and he should have bombed Mr Assad when the Syrian dictator crossed his “red line” by gassing his own people. Mr Hariri said: “We know their actions. We know their lies. We know what they do to people. We know how they act with people. So, when Bashar al-Assad says that, you know, he’s going to get rid of the chemical weapons, he’s not. “And if you believe him, it’s your mistake that you’re believing him. And that’s why when the red line was drawn, you could have come to the same deal after your actions.

Getty Donald Trump talks with Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah

“But that message would have, you know, gone down way better in the region and the regime would have understood that America meant business.” He adds that Mr Obama failed to strike a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine. And, confusingly says that while Arab leaders opposed President George W. Bush’s 2003 invasion of Iraq, they also opposed Mr Obama’s 2011 pullout of Iraq. Clarity, he claims, and the hope for a more decisive approach to Arab problems is the reason why he and other Arab leaders prefer Mr Trump. The Middle East is an overwhelmingly Muslim region, but the leaders are willing to overlook Mr Trump’s Muslim ban, as long as he gets the job done.

In April, the US fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at an airbase In Syria near Homs. The strike was in response to the Syrian government’s chemical weapons attack that killed at least 80 civilians, including children. Syrian officials said seven people were killed and nine wounded in the US missile attack.

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