Trump Jokes with Syrian President, Asking "How Many Wives Do You Have?" While Giving Perfume

Former Terrorist... First Visit of Syrian President to the U.S.
"How many wives do you have?"
When asked in return, "Just one now"

U.S. President Donald Trump jokingly asked Ahmed Alshara, the Interim President of Syria and a Muslim, "How many wives do you have?" causing both countries' aides to burst into laughter.

According to U.S. media outlets such as Newsweek on the 12th (local time), President Trump met with President Alshara at the White House Oval Office on the 10th and sprayed him with a perfume bearing his own name, "Trump Perfume." He then handed the perfume to President Alshara, saying, "This perfume is for you, and the rest is for your wife," before asking, "How many wives do you have?"

On the 10th (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump (left) and Ahmed Alshara, Interim President of Syria, met at the White House Oval Office. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

President Alshara replied with a smile, "Only one," and then asked, "How many do you have?" When President Trump responded, "Just one now," the aides from both countries present at the meeting erupted in laughter. Under Islamic law, men are allowed to practice polygamy and may have up to four wives.

On the same day, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance recounted the joke between President Trump and President Alshara at a public event in Washington, D.C., highlighting President Trump's sense of humor. He said, "The President met with Alshara in the Oval Office a few days ago and asked him how many wives he has. Isn't that an incredible question? Our cabinet has such a great sense of humor," he boasted.

Meanwhile, President Alshara has a history of involvement with the Islamic extremist militant group Al-Qaeda. When the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, he founded the Al-Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated organization, but severed ties with the group in 2016. He later united four Islamic rebel groups in northern Syria to form Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), and in December of last year, after toppling the long-standing pro-Russian and pro-Iranian dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad, he established a transitional government.

The United States had previously placed President Alshara on its global terrorist list and imposed sanctions, but lifted the sanctions ahead of his visit to the U.S. President Alshara became the first Syrian head of state to visit the White House in Washington, D.C.