Egypt singer changes pro-Mubarak song to praise Trump

Egyptian singer Wissam Magdy has released a bizarre English-language rendition of a 1999 Arabic song originally in praise of former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, turning it into a campaign song in support of US President Donald Trump ahead of what has now become one of the most contentious presidential elections in American history, as Trump’s Democrat rival Joe Biden is currently ahead in the vote count, having taken narrow leads in Wisconsin and Michigan.

The ballad “Ekhtarnah” (“We Chose Him”) was sung to Mubarak by 13 Egyptian artists in collaboration with the famous composer Ammar Al-Sherei.

However 34-year-old Magdy, who according to Al-Monitor is supportive of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, changed some of the lyrics in the English language version and slightly altered the melody.

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“We chose him, elected him, with our love he’ll always win. When he speaks our hearts listen because our rights are his vision. With our lives we trusted him, we chose him, elected him,” are some of the key lyrics to the song which has unsurprisingly since gone viral online after being posted on Magdy’s official Facebook page and has received over 100,000 views on YouTube.

The original Arabic version is surrounded in controversy over allegations that the artists performed the song under pressure from the state or “to mock the authorities” as some have claimed. The pro-Trump rendition is intended to be satirical, as Magdy explained to the news site that “I put myself in the shoes of someone who wants to express support for a US president using the same or similar words, the same melody, but in English”

"We chose him elected him" https://t.co/WzLtFO72ce Egyptians make a song for President Trump modeled on a song for Mubarak https://t.co/SaU8swytcm

— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) October 28, 2020

“Trump was the most logical choice since the song was originally written to voice renewed support for a president, not for someone like Biden running for the first time”

“I did not mean to either ridicule or support Trump, because I am an Egyptian citizen and only an American citizen can have a say in the elections. However, I do value Trump for many of the positions in which he supports Egypt. Had he had any hostile intentions or positions toward the state, I would not sing for him,” he added.

Last night while the votes were still being counted, Trump prematurely declared himself victorious in the tightly-contested election and warned: “We are going to the United States Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop.”

While his opponent, Biden tweeted that “We feel good about where we are… we believe we are on track to win this election.”

Despite winning key swing states Florida and Pennsylvania and securing safe red state Texas, Trump claimed his lead “magically disappeared in key states” after Joe Biden pulled ahead in Wisconsin and Michigan.

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