Al Qaeda belittles U.S. presidential candidates as “mired in criticism and flaws”

Al Qaeda is criticizing both U.S. presidential candidates, scoffing at America’s ‘waning’ influence around the world, in the latest edition of its online news magazine obtained and translated from Arabic by The Foreign Desk. “Some may wonder how the U.S. presidential campaign could only yield two candidates mired in criticism and flaws, and how the American establishment can only produce Hillary and Trump? Is this evidence of the beginning of the American decline?” Al Qaeda published in Al Masra, a digital magazine, coming out several times a month by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). “The answer will be confirmed by the outcome of the election. Without doubt, the future will be different from the past, where the star of the United States flashed and is now set to fade,” it said. Trump, the magazine says, has kept the American people in “suspense” over whether he will accept the outcome of November’s U.S. election. The publicizing of Clinton’s leaked emails, on the other hand, exposes her “deceptive politics and maneuvers to gain power,” causing her to “lose a large part of her popularity and the trust of the American people,” the author writes. The article contends that even if Hillary Clinton wins, “this will not unite the country again,” because the country is already divided and cannot face “growing challenges.” Yet he writes, if Trump fails to win the election he would still have “succeeded in reducing the confidence of the American people in a democratic government.” Back in March, Al Masra offered insights into then frontrunners Trump and Clinton, predicting how each individual would deal with the Middle East and Muslims around the world. Trump, who is “famous for his-anti Muslim attitude,” would cause an increase in anti-U.S. sentiment by Muslims if elected President, the article argued, while former Sec. of State Clinton would be “an extension of the policy of Obama and the Democrats in the region.” The magazine, which ‘predicted’ both Trump and Clinton to emerge victorious in their respective GOP and DNC races, opted this time for a failsafe photo of Republican presidential nominee Trump. The terror group has had a history of refusing to publish photographs of women. In its March edition, it published headshots of all the presidential candidates still in the race including blurred images of Clinton and one-time GOP challenger Carly Fiorina.