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Rahim Rashidi, "Mr. Kurd, "questions President Trump during his press conference on Wednesday. (Screenshot / YouTube / NBC News)
This is an insolent remark heard instantly around the world, disconcerting the audience of President Trump. Wednesday's freewheeling press conference that seemed in dispute as to whether it was polite, rude or a mix of both.
"Yes, please, Mr. Kurd. Go ahead, "Trump told Kurdish journalist Rahim Rashidi, who asked him to ask a question about relations between the United States and the Kurds.
Trump's response was almost drowned by the ensuing social media frenzy, as people wondered if they had heard the president of course. The clip began to circulate and ended in reels of the press conference. "Mr. Kurd" started to be on Twitter.
But among those who were shocked by Trump's remark, Rashidi, a journalist from Kurdistan 24, was not among them.
"Hello, it's Mr. Kurd," he said while he was answering the phone Wednesday night, several hours after being viral.
For Rashidi, Trump's recognition of his Kurdish identity as the world was far from insulting. Instead, it was a moment of pride, he said.
"I loved it because the Turkish government ignores all the time, our identity is ignored by the Iranian government," he told the Washington Post. "We are proud of our struggle for democracy, for justice, for freedom. He made me so happy when he called me Mr. Kurd. It was a moment of respect for us, for me.
The Kurds are "one of the largest peoples in the world without a sovereign state", with a "history marked by marginalization and persecution", as stated by the Council on Foreign Relations. About 30 million Kurds live in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey, while "many who remain on their ancestral lands maintain a strong sense of Kurdish identity," writes CFR in its call for independence. Rashidi stated that he was born in Kurdistan of Iran and that he then lived in Iraqi Kurdistan until 2000. He then fled to Turkey and later to Sweden, as a as a legal refugee, he said. He now lives in Washington, DC.
On Wednesday evening, other Kurds also expressed their gratitude for Trump's recognition of their identity, including another Kurdish journalist in the room. Majeed Gly, head of the New York office for Rudaw Media Network, said on Twitter that he would take it "as a compliment if you call me Mr. Kurd".
"There is an uproar on social media as if Trump had been disrespectful," said Namo Abdulla, head of Rudaw's Washington office, said on Twitter. "He was not clear, I am #Kurdish and Mr Kurd is my colleague, Kurdistan is an identity most Kurds are proud of.
In the middle of a wave of questions to Trump about allegations of sexual misconduct that assaulted the Supreme Court candidate, Mr. Brett. Mr. Kavanaugh, Rashidi asked Trump what the future relationship with the Kurds would look like in a post-ISIS world. Kurdish militias, allied with US forces, played a crucial role in Syria in the fight against the Islamic State. But the question on the minds of the Kurds is whether the US government will continue to support the Kurds after the defeat of the Islamic State.
"We are trying to get along," said Trump in response. "We get along well with the Kurds. We try to help them a lot. Do not forget that it's their territory. We must help them. I want to help them They fought with us. They died with us. They are dead. We lost tens of thousands of Kurds and died fighting against the Islamic State. They died for us and with us. And for themselves. They died for themselves. They are great people. And we have not forgotten. We do not forget.
Rashidi said he found Trump's answer more than enough.
"It gave us something," Rashidi told The Post. "He gave us hope."
He was asked if he thought Trump's nickname would stay in place, Rashidi said.
"Just call me Mr. Kurd," he joked.
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