Controversy erupted over a property in Washington DC, which is owned by member of parliament Mostafa Al-Gendy. The property was allegedly used by the campaign manager of United States presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The property is used to operate the news outlet Breitbart, which is led by Trump’s campaign manager Steve Bannon, and adopts a pro-Trump stance, as well as propagating for his candidacy.
After British news outlet The Guardian revealed that Al-Gendy’s property is being used by Bannon, speculations arose about the relation between Al-Gendy and Trump. Al-Gendy responded to the news, but issued contradictory statements.
Besides being an MP, Al-Gendy runs a number of businesses, mainly in the tourism sector. He said in a statement to privately-owned news outlet Mada Masr that tourism was hit hard following the 25 January Revolution. He owns property around the world, including the one mentioned above.
Al-Gendy denied any relations with Trump, saying that he is just the landlord of the property and doesn’t know who it is rented to. Nevertheless, he kept the possibility that the property may be rented by Trump’s campaign open.
However, in other media reports, Al-Gendy denied that his property has anything to do with Trump’s campaign. He said that Trump is a business tycoon and doesn’t need his property.
Regarding the fact that The Guardian was the news outlet which originally published the alleged news, Al-Gendy said that it is a well-known fact that the newspaper is financed by Qataris who support the Muslim Brotherhood, and is politically motivated.
Al-Gendy’s political stances have always been questionable. He was an MP during former president Hosni Mubarak’s era. Though he never admitted explicit rejection to Mubarak’s policies and regime, he showed sympathy with the 25 January revolution. He is currently a member of the parliament’s 25-30 Alliance.
