Arab-American Comedian Mo Amer Sat Next to Eric Trump on a Flight, Talked Election and Muslim Rights

In a twist of fate that sounds like something out of a sitcom, prominent Muslim comedian Mohammed “Mo” Amer found himself sitting next to Eric Trump during a flight to Scotland.

The comic posted a selfie with Trump on Facebook alerting his followers and fans to the development. He also posted a caption which read in part, “Good news guys Muslims will not have to check in and get IDs. That’s what I was told. I will be asking him a lot of questions on this trip to Glasgow, Scotland. Sometimes God just sends you the material.”

Amer said that he was initially shocked by the situation.

“I was just walking in and he was just sitting there with his Trump shirt on and I was like, Is this real? Is this real? Is this a setup? I mean, I’m an Arab-Palestinian, everything is a conspiracy, right?” Amer told BuzzFeed. “So when I walked into the plane I was like, ‘What is this?’ This is obviously from Allah – Allah is just trying to hook me up right now. That’s what’s happening.”

According to Amer, he immediately spoke to the 32-year-old right from the moment he sat down.

“When I sat down I said: ‘How you doing?’ Trump says: ‘I’m doing good.’ And I said: ‘You have no idea how fantastic this is for me right now. My name is Mohammed. Salams. I’m a standup comedian. This is fantastic for me.’”

Amer brought up the controversial idea proposed by President-elect Trump that Muslims would be required to carry special identification cards. He told Trump that he wouldn’t sign up for one, to which the comedian claimed that Trump told him, “Ah, come on, man. You can’t believe everything you read. Do you really think we’re gonna do that?”

From there, the two began discussing the campaign, and according to Amer, Trump essentially admitted to the theatrical nature of his father’s campaign. When the comic told him his father had played the media like a fiddle, and knew the tricks inside that “created this firestorm,” and how it had “worked out lovely,” he claims Trump replied,“Yeah, you’re absolutely right.”

Amer went on. “That’s what he told me. He basically acknowledged the fact that his father played this thing like a mad genius and that’s how he got elected and he admitted it.”

The two spoke for about an hour before Trump fell asleep. Amer also claimed he said Islamic prayers for Trump.

In the later interview with Buzzfeed, Amer gave his thoughts on Trump based on the conversation:

“I just felt he was a robot, in the sense this guy has a routine that has been there since he was 6. I believe his dad raised him super old-school and that’s the feeling I got from him. He’s flying first-class to Scotland for a day, checking in on their golf course, going in and talking to them. This guy is all about business. He also seemed disconnected from the reality of race attacks and violence. The vibe that I got, this was a game to them and they had no regrets and they did it to win and they will most likely keep doing it.”

Some of Amer’s social media followers were surprised that he sat next to Trump for the duration of the flight, let alone speak to him, but the comic explained to Buzzfeed that “As a comedian it’s my responsibility, it’s my duty, to find out as much information as possible to provide an accurate commentary. So for me it’s like I’m not rejecting a gift from the divine. Are you kidding me? ‘I just gave it to you on a platter. Do you want to deny this whole situation?‘ Of course not, I’m gonna jump right in.”