US President Donald Trump met Syria’s interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa in Riyadh on Wednesday, but the meeting did not go down well with the internet, for a shocking reason. Syria’s interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa was once linked to Al-Qaeda and was a jihadist who had been on the US wanted list, as per media reports.

Trump also praised al-Sharaa, calling him a “young, attractive and tough guy.” Calling him a “fighter”, the US President added that al-Sharaa has a “strong past, very strong past”. He further said that al-Sharaa had a “real shot at holding it together”.

The meeting, which happened during Trump’s summit with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders in Riyadh, marks a major change for Syria as it tries to rebuild and move forward after the sudden fall of Bashar al-Assad last year. But the internet was more focussed on Trump’s pose with an alleged former terrorist.

This post was even accompanied with AI-generated images of President Trump shaking hands with Osama Bin Laden as a crass comparison between Sharaa’s “strong past”. Another user took a positive spin on the meeting and shared “if there is ONE man who can somehow make Syria change from a pariah regime to a functioning country, it’s him. I really want to be hopeful this is the start of something new. Not holding my breath, but still.”

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In a “who did it better” context, the internet was also re-surfaced with images of Yasin Malik shooter who killed Four Air Force officers and injuring 22 in 1990 outside Srinagar met PM Dr Manmohan Singh at his residence. Raising speculations of the source of Al-Qaeda’s funding, the netizens also pointed out the irony of the $10 million bounty set by Trump himself for the arrest of Sharaa – recently removed in December.

Trump’s next leg in the tour

Donald Trump’s visit to Syria is being followed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Trump also said that Israel was not sidelined by his trip to the Gulf and that good US relations with those countries is good for Israel. “This is good for Israel,” Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One. “Having a relationship like I have with these countries … I think it’s very good for Israel.”