CHANGE: Trump presidency heralds new era of closer ties with Egypt.

Friendly phone calls, an invite to the White House, a focus on Islamic militancy and what Donald Trump called “chemistry” have set the tone for a new era of warmer U.S.-Egyptian ties that could herald more military and political support for Cairo.

The mutual admiration dates back to a U.N. meeting in September, when then-presidential candidate Trump found common ground with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s hard line on extremism. Trump described the ex-general, who rights groups criticize as authoritarian and repressive, as a “fantastic guy”.

Sisi, the first foreign leader to congratulate Trump on his election victory, returned the favor last month after the newly inaugurated president barred citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

Egypt, not on the list, refrained from speaking out against the ban on behalf of Muslim countries that often look to it for leadership. That silence spoke volumes about the changing tone of its relationship with the United States.

I keep reading that Trump is the bull in an international china shop, but it was Obama who blundered around Egypt, searching for a foreign policy there, annoying/disappointing/angering everyone in the process, before finally settling on the terrorist-loving and anti-American Muslim Brotherhood (since deposed) as his preferred Egyptian government.