Egyptian American actor and comedian Ramy Youssef appeared on “Sesame Street” in mid-April to celebrate Arab American Heritage Month. In a warm, cuddly segment, he taught Elmo the meaning of the salutation “as-salamu alaykum.” “Salam means peace and it’s a way to say hello in Arabic,” he told the Muppet. Youssef also explained the meaning of “habibi,” which is an Arabic term of endearment that means “my love.”
Adorable to most, yet triggering for some. Fox News commentator Raymond Arroyo warned the public about the dangers of the language lesson, likening it to a gateway drug to Islam. “I wish ‘Sesame Street’ would stick to teaching kids about letters and numbers and leave the Arabic immersion to someone else,” he said on the “Ingraham Angle.” “Next, Bert and Ernie will be praying five times a day on ‘Sesame Street,’ facing east.”
But Fox News, like the Republican administration, is cherry-picking what parts of Islam it is willing to tolerate.
On Monday, Paramount Skydance asked Trump’s Federal Communications Commission for permission to exceed foreign ownership rules for U.S. media companies, paving the way for its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. If approved, three powerful ruling Arab-Muslim royal families from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar would become part-owners of a U.S. media monolith that includes CNN and HBO.
Yet there’s nary a complaint or alarm bell from Fox, or conservative influencers or politicians in the MAGA ecoverse. It’s a silence that’s wholly off-brand given that Islam, Muslims, the Middle East and Arabs have long been outrage grist for those on the right who wish to rally their base. Vote for our guy or risk living under sharia, and stay away from Barack Hussein Obama!
So why the silence over Middle Easterners moving in on U.S. media? Selective outrage. It’s best not to draw attention to a Saudi or Emirati bearing revenue if it benefits the conservative cause, the president or his friends.
Which brings us back to Paramount’s ask of the FCC. Oracle co-founder, billionaire and conservative donor Larry Ellison is an old friend of the president’s. After the FCC unsurprisingly OKd the merger of Ellison’s Skydance Media with Paramount last year, CBS came with the deal. Under Ellison, anti-woke media figure Bari Weiss was promptly made head of CBS News, which includes “60 Minutes,” and Trump critic Stephen Colbert’s late show was canceled. His final show is May 21.
Ellison’s political leanings and close ties to Trump could explain why news of his FCC ask hasn’t triggered the usual Muslim-scare fare from folks like Arroyo. Middle Eastern royal families, which include Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other foreign investors, would help finance Paramount’s proposed $81-billion transaction.
The art of selective outrage is certainly in play as the Trump Organization, and the president’s son Eric, expand their business reach into Qatar, which includes a $3-billion luxury real estate development featuring a Trump International Golf Club and a $500-million UAE-linked investment in World Liberty Financial (crypto). But the flow of dirhams and riyals doesn’t stop there. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and his Affinity Partners firm recently reported more than $6.1 billion in assets, with most of the funds tied to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Little, if any, Fox News energy has been spent calling out the clear conflict of interest, and they’ve largely stayed silent as Trump’s griftocracy spreads to regions he once sought to cut off from America.
Trump in 2015 sought to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. A few months later, he claimed that “Islam hates us.” And when he moved into the White House nearly a year later, one of the first things he did as president was institute a Muslim ban, suspending entry for 90 days for travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Notice the Gulf countries and Emirates that are missing?
Now, the president’s not only banning Iran but also bombing it, to the tune of a $25-billion war. His erratic commentary about the military campaign (“Praise be to Allah!”) on his Truth Social platform engenders reams of violent, hateful anti-Muslim responses from his primed and ready followers. But they appear to overlook his growing relationship with those guys in “man dresses” (that’s how Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis referred to the traditional attire of men in the Gulf during a GOP debate).
What a strange world it is when a Muslim-banning president ties his legacy to moneyed Muslim nations, and America’s No. 1 cable news station spends its time bashing a puppet for learning how to say “peace” and “love” in Arabic.
