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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: T24 0103 Trump Mideast Team
HEADLINE: Trump’s top Mideast aides have close personal ties to him, business backgrounds
TEASER:
PUBLISHED: 1/3/24, 10:05 am
BYLINE: Michael Lipin
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
SCRIPT EDITORS: Stearns, Baragona, Mia Bush
VIDEO EDITOR:
VIDEO SHOOTER:
VIDEO SOURCES: C-SPAN, YouTube/@GOPConvention, Zoom, YouTube/Qatar Economic Forum, Reuters/Pool, SCOA Nigeria website, VOA map of Lebanon, AP, YouTube/@SkyNews, Michael Boulos/Instagram, YouTube/@ParkLaneNewYork, Israel Defense Forces, Reuters Iran nuclear file (NO USE VOA PERSIAN), Reuters
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB ___ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:08
APPROVED BY:Jepsen
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO))
[[On the Middle East, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen as advisers two businessmen with whom he shares close personal ties. VOA’s Michael Lipin has our story.]]
((video: Witkoff with Trump at Macon, GA rally on Nov. 2, 2024))
((Mandatory CG: C-SPAN))
((timecode: 0:05 – 0:16))
((NARRATOR))
Donald Trump chose longtime friend Steven Witkoff as his new special envoy to the Middle East. The New York real estate investor campaigned regularly for Trump’s re-election.
((video: Witkoff speaking at RNC, Trump smiling in response))
((Mandatory CG: YouTube bug + @GOPConvention))
((timecode 1:53:05 - 1:53:15 – end on close up of Trump smiling))
((NARRATOR))
That close relationship will help Witkoff in the region, says national security analyst Allison McManus.
((Allison McManus, Center for American Progress))
((TRT 0:21))
((CG: Zoom))
“So as Witkoff does need to be traveling, to be meeting with foreign counterparts, heads of state, ministerial level, he will be able to bring that kind of clout, with him, that he's somebody speaking on behalf of the president, who will have that sort of authority in those settings.”
((NARRATOR))
((video: Witkoff speaking at Doha panel discussion, May 15, 2024))
((Mandatory CG: YouTube bug + “Qatar Economic Forum” + please do not obscure the “#QatarEconomicForum” bug in the top right of the screen))
((timecode 11:05 - 11:14))
((NARRATOR))
In Qatar last May, Witkoff praised the Gulf state for diversifying its economic growth through government and private sector collaboration.
((Steven Witkoff, Incoming US Special Envoy to the Middle East))
((TRT: 0:22))
((timecode 11:23 – 11:44))
“I sense it in Qatar. I think that they obviously had an economy that was much more geared towards petrochemical and natural gas and things of that sort. They're expanding. Tourism is up. The hotels here are magnificent. Who wouldn't come back to this to this region?”
((video: Park Lane Hotel, New York City file))
((Mandatory CG: YouTube bug + @ParkLaneNewYork + please do not obscure hotel logo in the bottom left corner of screen))
((video #1 “Park Lane Hotel New York - A Central Park Hotel” timecode 0:01 – 0:11
((video #2 “Park Lane Hotel Concierge talks New York City” timcode 0:12 – 0:16))
((NARRATOR))
Experts note Witkoff may have to divest from some real estate deals with Gulf states to comply with U.S. laws against conflicts of interest.
((Radio: Again, Allison McManus.))
((Allison McManus, Center for American Progress))
((TRT 0:30))
((CG: Zoom))
((timecode: 5:44 – 6:13))
“It's absolutely something that is [[JUMP CUT]] a great concern as we see some of these particularly business community figures in roles where they could both personally enrich themselves in negotiating terms that may be more favorable to certain countries, like the Gulf countries, and also what that might mean in terms of their prioritization, again, of interests.”
((video: photos of Massad Boulos with son Michael and daughter-in-law Tiffany Trump from Michael Boulos’ Instagram feed))
((Mandatory CG: Michael Boulos/Instagram))
((NARRATOR))
Massad Boulos will serve as Trump’s senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. He is the father-in-law of the president-elect’s daughter Tiffany.
((video: Massad Boulos campaigns with Trump at Dearborn cafe, Nov. 1, 2024))
((CG: Reuters/Pool))
((timecode 0:52 – 0:59 then 1:22-1:26))
((NARRATOR))
The Lebanese American businessman also campaigned for Trump’s re-election, mobilizing Arab American voters in the Midwest swing state of Michigan.
((video: SCOA Nigeria website))
Boulos is a chief executive of SCOA Nigeria, a company selling trucks and heavy machinery in the West African nation.
((video: map of Lebanon, showing Kfar Akka))
He was born to a minority Christian family in the northern Lebanese village of Kfar Akka, where his father served as mayor.
((video: Hezbollah’s southern Beirut stronghold in rubble, Oct. 1, 2024))
((CG: AP))
((timecode 0:19 – 0:24 then 1:49 – 1:54))
Last October, Boulos said conflict in the region has kept him from returning to Lebanon.
((Massad Boulos, Incoming Trump Mideast Adviser ))
((Mandatory CG: YouTube bug + @SkyNews + please do not obscure the “sky news” bug in the top left corner of the screen))
((TRT 0:20))
((timecode 10:32 – 10:52))
“I haven't been back to my own native country, my home country, for many years because of this situation. I would love to go back. I would love for my own children to go back to Lebanon. Lebanon used to be known ... as the Switzerland of the Middle East, and Beirut was the Paris of the Middle East. We want this to come back.”
((CORRESPONDENT ON CAMERA))
Major challenges await Trump’s new Mideast team. They include Israel’s ongoing conflicts with Iranian proxies in Gaza and Yemen, Iran’s expanding nuclear program, Syria’s chaotic emergence from dictatorial rule, and an elusive deal to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
((Michael Lipin, VOA News, at the White House))
((NON-STANDUP video:
((video: latest of Israel-Hamas fighting in Gaza))
((video #1 “AP Gaza airstrike aftermath” Dec. 19, 2024))
((CG: AP))
((timecode: 0:09 – 0:13))
Major challenges await Trump’s new Mideast team.
((video #2 “AP Israel Defense Minister in Gaza” Dec. 25, 2024))
((CG: AP/Israel Defense Forces))
((timecode 0:01-0:04 then 1:07 – 1:10))
They include Israel’s ongoing conflicts with Iranian proxies in Gaza and Yemen,
((video: Reuters / Iran nuclear file – Natanz, Iran 2021))
((CG: Reuters))
((RESTRICTION: NO USE VOA PERSIAN))
((timecode: 0:01 – 0:04))
...Iran’s expanding nuclear program,
((video: “AP Damascus rebel takeover” -- Syrian rebels capture Damascus, Dec. 8, 2024))
((timecode: 0:30 – 0:32 then 0:43 – 0:45))
...Syria’s chaotic emergence from dictatorial rule,
((video #1: Reuters Riyadh drone shots, 2022))
((CG: Reuters))
((timecode: 0:06 – 0:09 then 0:00 – 0:06))
...and an elusive deal to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Michael Lipin, VOA News, Washington.))
((video #2: AFP Riyadh city view))
((CG: AFP))
((timecode 0:02 – 0:10))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateJanuary 3, 2025 10:12 EST
BylineMichael Lipin
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English, US Agency for Global Media
