A poster of U.S. President Donald Trump put up above Jisr al-Wati bridge, in Sin al-Fil, Beirut, on Aug. 3, 2025. Photo circulating on X.
A new billboard featuring U.S. President Donald Trump appeared Sunday in Sin al-Fil, Beirut. Witnesses said the banner was installed on the roof of a building near the Jisr al-Wati bridge.
“We know that you love Lebanon” is written in large letters next to a smiling portrait of Trump, along with a quote from famed Lebanese writer Gibran Khalil Gibran: “The truly great man is he who would master no one, and be mastered by none.” The phrase comes from Gibran’s 1926 poetry collection Sand and Foam.
Social media backlash and propaganda
The billboard drew swift backlash on social media, with some users comparing it to pro-Iranian axis and Hezbollah propaganda.
“But where is Lebanese sovereignty??? Staggering. How is such a thing possible?” one user wrote. Another commented: “Here’s how you have to deal with Trump: you steer him in the desired direction using flattery.”
The origin of the billboard remains unclear. Unlike other political advertisements in Lebanon, it carries no signature or dedication.
This campaign is similar to the “Mabrouk [congratulations] to Dr. Massad Boulos” posters that appeared across Lebanon in January, after Boulos — the father of Trump’s Lebanese son-in-law — was appointed adviser for Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. That campaign was reportedly backed by Tony Fayad, a businessman from northern Lebanon.
At the same time, other posters featuring Lebanese President Joseph Aoun with the slogan “Make Lebanon Great Again” — echoing Trump’s 2016 campaign — were displayed around Beirut for months.
Since Trump took office in January, his special envoys — first Morgan Ortagus, then Tom Barrack — have made repeated visits to Lebanon, delivering U.S. demands to local authorities. These have included calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament and urgent economic reforms, particularly banking sector restructuring.
In a May speech at the Saudi-American Economic Forum in Riyadh, Trump said he was “ready to help Lebanon,” praising its new leadership and advocating for a “more productive partnership with the United States.”
“My administration is ready to help Lebanon create a future of economic development and peace with its neighbors. There are wonderful people in Lebanon — doctors, lawyers, great professionals. I hear it all the time,” Trump said.
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