On January 27 President Donald Trump posted on social media that the United States would withhold aid from Iraq if former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki were reappointed, calling such a move "a very bad choice." The comment prompted two nights of demonstrations, with Iraqis gathering outside Baghdad's heavily guarded Green Zone on January 28 and 29 to denounce what they say is American meddling in Iraq's domestic affairs. Chanting slogans against foreign interference, the crowds made clear that public resentment toward Washington remains potent and politically charged.
Protesters assembled along the perimeter of the Green Zone, whose walls and checkpoints have for decades symbolized foreign influence and fragile sovereignty in the Iraqi capital. Photographs distributed by state media showed lines of demonstrators in the evening, their anger echoing through the streets as security forces maintained a tight watch. The scenes reflect both grassroots outrage and a wider political contest over who should lead Iraq amid ongoing debates about national sovereignty and external pressure.
Nouri al-Maliki, who served as prime minister from 2006 to 2014, is a polarising figure in Iraqi politics: credited by some for strengthening state institutions but criticised by many Sunnis and secular Iraqis for sectarian governance and centralising tendencies that helped fuel grievance and instability. Washington's public intervention—threatening to cut aid as a lever to shape Baghdad's choices—revives long-standing tensions over the role of external patrons in Iraqi political life. For many Iraqis the optics of a foreign leader openly vetoing domestic appointments reinforces narratives of compromised independence.
The immediate fallout is twofold. Domestically, the protests could stiffen resistance among nationalists and political blocs that resent foreign influence, complicating coalition-building and the already delicate process of forming a government. Regionally, the incident risks pushing Baghdad further into the orbit of alternative patrons, notably Tehran, which has cultivated influence among Shiite parties and militias. For Washington, the gambit of public pressure carries upside if it deters a Maliki comeback, but it also carries the risk of alienating constituencies whose cooperation is essential for stabilisation and counterterrorism.