'Best for ISIS if Trump elected'
Expert believes a terrorist attack before America goes to polls will favour Republican candidate Donald Trump
A terrorist attack just before the American presidential polls in November could result in a win for Republican candidate Donald Trump, said an expert on the Middle East.
And this would suit a terrorist organisation such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), said Dr Nader Hashemi of the University of Denver, The Star reported.
"The big fear in the US now is if in October, one month before the presidential election, you have a major terrorist attack similar to Orlando or Paris - that is enough to put Donald Trump in the White House," he said at a seminar recently.
A shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando by an American-born man who had pledged allegiance to ISIS resulted in 49 people being killed and 52 others injured. It was the deadliest mass shooting in the US.
Last December, Mr Trump had called for a ban on all Muslims from entering the US until it could figure out what's going on.
But since he was elected Republican nominee for the presidential race, Mr Trump has called for a ban on anyone immigrating to the country from areas of the world that have a history of terrorism against America or its allies.
"If you were ISIS, you would just wait because the best thing for ISIS is for Donald Trump to be elected," said Dr Nader, who specialises in Middle East and Islamic politics.
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton had said in December that Mr Trump "is becoming ISIS' best recruiter".
"They are going to people, showing them videos of Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists," she was quoted as saying.
Separately, New York Post yesterday ran a photo of potential first lady Melania Trump naked, prompting criticism on social media and charges of misogyny.
It was the second day in a row that the Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid ran a front page nude image of Mr Trump's wife from her years as a young model, AFP reported.
"Menage a Trump," ran the headline, touting the paper's "exclusive photos".
The picture shows a nude Mrs Trump being hugged by another nude woman as she lies in bed.
On Sunday, New York Post ran a photo of a nude Mrs Trump, with stars covering her breasts, under the title "The Ogle Office".
SHRUG OFF
The Republican's presidential campaign appeared to shrug off the pictures.
Mr Trump adviser Jason Miller told CNN on Sunday that there was "nothing to be embarrassed about with the pictures - she's a beautiful woman".
Both photos were taken in 1995 when the 46-year-old Slovenian-born Mrs Trump was 25 and working as a model, before she met Mr Trump.
The photos were published the following year in Max, a now-defunct French magazine.
New York Post endorsed Mr Trump for president in April, describing him at the time as "a potential superstar of vast promise, but making rookie mistakes".
The reaction on Twitter to the photos was mixed.
"Shame on you #NewYorkPost for slut-shaming Melania Trump. The US needs no more neanderthal input to this already disgraceful election," read one tweet.
"I am appalled and outraged" by the cover photo, read another tweet, adding: "Misogyny is misogyny."
Several other tweets decried the "attempts to shame" Mrs Trump.
Some wondered how conservative evangelical Christians would react, while others wondered if Mr Murdoch, who also holds conservative views, had turned against Mr Trump.
Mrs Trump met Mr Trump in 1998, and became the real estate tycoon's third wife in 2005.
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