Having met with both major party candidates for the United States, the current Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, seems to be leaning toward Donald Trump as the candidate he’d like to see win. This is based on an interview Sisi held with CNN’s Erin Burnett. The interview airs on CNN tonight.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said he he has “no doubt” that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump would make a strong leader.

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“The United States in general conducts very strict security measures for everyone who wishes to visit it, which has been in place for quite a few years,” Sisi said. “It’s also important to know that during election campaigns many statements are made and many things are said, however afterwards governing the country would be something different. And will be subject to many factors.”

So, Sisi believes that this talk of a ban on Muslims is just that – talk. He apparently doesn’t believe that it’s something Trump will actually follow through with. It’s as if their chat might have been revealing on some of these issues.

Sisi met with both Trump and Clinton, separately, in New York this week. Clinton is not expected to change U.S. policy toward Egypt if she becomes president, but some human rights advocates worry that Trump would forge closer ties with Sisi, whose brutal clampdown on Islamists and political opponents in Egypt has been widely criticized.

No way. You mean Trump might be someone who is okay with dictators enforcing their will on the people they rule? You’ve got to be kidding me*.

Asked if he thought Clinton would make a good president, Sisi voiced back-handed approval. “Political parties in the United States would not allow candidates to reach that level unless they are qualified to lead a country the size of the United States of America,” he said.

Sisi believes that Clinton might be qualified because she was nominated, and no one would dare be stupid enough to nominate someone who was unqualified. Wait, are we talking about the Democrats or the Republicans here?

Anyway, Egypt is a key ally in that region, and the friendlier our terms with them, the better our interests will be held. If you’re looking for someone who will be tough on insurgent forces with malicious intentions on the west, then Sisi knows full well that continuing Obama’s policies are not in his own best interests. If you have someone like Trump, who appears willing to commit to being their for allies in these conflicts, then of course they’re going to lean toward him.

It’s actually not a terrible semi-endorsement. But it is less than ideal because we nominated Trump of all people.

*To be fair, if he’s oppressing Islamists, I probably don’t disagree a whole lot with his rule, either. But, if you’re willing to be a despot toward one group, what’s to stop you from doing it to other, more innocent groups?