Donald Trump is reportedly planning on bringing President Obama's Kenyan half-brother Malik to the third and final presidential debate in Las Vegas on Wednesday night. According to Page Six, Malik—who has a notoriously rocky relationship with President Obama—has accepted an invitation from Trump to the debate.
Malik Obama announced his support for Trump's presidential candidacy over the summer and has expressed a distaste for the way Hillary Clinton ran the State Department during President Obama's first administration. Most notably, he has taken issue with the way the U.S. empowered a rebel coalition in 2011 to oust and kill Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, a close friend of Malik's.
"I’m excited to be at the debate. Trump can make America great again," Malik told Page Six. Trump told the Post that he "look[s] very much forward to meeting and being with Malik" because "he gets it far better than his brother."
Malik also added that he doesn't believe the roughly 12 women who have accused Trump of sexual assault this month. "Why didn’t they come forward before?" he asked the Post.
It's not the first time Trump has invited guests to a presidential debate to try and rattle Clinton. Before the second presidential debate, he held a press conference with Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Jones, and Kathy Shelton—three women who have accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault in the past—and then brought them to the town hall. Critics have called this evidence of Trump's "scorched-earth" strategy: to do as much damage as possible as he watches his poll numbers sink.
Due to antics like this, unnamed Clinton aides told the New York Times that the camp has worked out a deal with the Commission on Presidential Debates that will allow family members to enter the auditorium through doors closest to their seats, removing the necessity to cross paths with the opponent's family. It cuts out what has the potential to be an incredibly awkward photo op between the Clintons and Trump's guests.
In the modified words of Michelle Obama:
In addition to inviting Malik Obama to the debate, Trump has also reportedly asked Patricia Smith, the mother of Benghazi victim Sean Smith, to come. Meanwhile, Clinton has extended invitations to Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman and Mark Cuban.
