NO ONE HATES JUST MEXICANS:

"Where's my favorite dictator?" US President Donald Trump reportedly asked while waiting for his Egyptian counterpart, former general Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, on the sidelines of the G7 summit last year.

It should come as no surprise that the billionaire-turned-president has spoken positively about autocrats across the world. He has described North Korea's Kim Jong Un as a "great leader" and called Russia's Vladimir Putin "a nicer person than I am."

Former top-ranking US officials have even described it as "dictator envy."

In the Middle East, where US foreign policy has played an active role in installing and deposing leaders, Trump's fondness for strongmen has translated into increasing tolerance for human rights violations, most notably in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

"Arab leaders like el-Sissi are incredibly happy when they see a world power like the US led by a president who openly attacks the press, ignores human rights and governs by a populist agenda," said Amr Magdi of Human Rights Watch.

"It's no surprise that many Arab governments supported Trump in 2016, and they support him now."

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