Peas in a Pod: Farrakhan sups with Rouhani
Say you're the brand new leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran and you visit the US for the first time. Just who do you want coming to dinner?
If you're President Hassan Rouhani of Iran, one name you simply can't leave off the guest list is Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
The fiery black nationalist and friend to former Obama advisor Reverend Jeremiah Wright has been right at home having dinner with America's enemies over the years.
Farrakhan and his entourage attended a dinner party hosted by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday night. Rouhani's dinner party was held on the second floor of the One UN Hotel, where the Iranian delegation is staying, and at the same time as President Obama's party at the Waldorf Astoria just blocks away.
The private dinner party was held just hours after Rouhani's speech to the general assembly.
Farrakhan, the fiery 80-year-old who has previously sidled up to the likes of Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi, and his massive entourage and private security detail were seen departing the hotel around 10 p.m. Tuesday. Pedestrian traffic was stopped while the minister and his group piled into various cars with lights and sirens and New Jersey license plates.
Also in attendance at Rouhani's party was German Deputy Foreign Minister Peter Florin, who was elected president of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.
Farrakhan made headlines during the General Assembly last year when he dined with Rouhani's predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Farrakhan is no stranger to controversy. He has been blasted for his anti-Semitic remarks and has aligned himself with former Iranian presidents and other controversial world leaders. In 2011, Farrakhan blasted Obama, calling him a "murderer" in response to the death of Qaddafi.
"We voted for our brother Barack, a beautiful human being with a sweet heart," Farrakhan said. "Now he's an assassin."
Rouhani doesn't appear to think any more of Obama, who extended an olive branch to the rogue nation when he told the General Assembly "regime change" in Iran is not the goal of the U.S., and urged peaceful talks to diffuse Tehran's nuclear program. But Rouhani spurned Obama later, refusing to shake his hand because there was "not enough time."
No doubt Rouhani had to toddle off to dinner, which prevented him from shaking the hand of the lightworker.
Doesn't it sound like Farrakhan knows Obama pretty well? The two met at the White House back in 2009, according to visitor logs, and he may have been there another time with his family. Prior to that, no self-respecting black politician could run in the state of Illinois without Farrakhan's blessing. Whether the two met back then is unknown, but it's not surprising that Obama would try and hide his connection to such a radical, anti-Semitic, anti-American hater.
Farrakhan amd Rouhani: made for each other.