Trump praises ‘strong man’ Erdogan, says he’ll ‘probably’ make the Turkish leader ‘very happy’

U.S. President Donald Trump hinted on Wednesday that Washington is looking to move ahead with the sale of military equipment to Turkey.

Asked by a reporter in the White House if Trump’s visit to Turkey on July 7-8 will be accompanied by “a big gift bag,” with the reporter noting that Ankara seeks F-110 jet engines and F-35s, the president replied: “Yeah, I think so. He’s a member of NATO... I’m going to probably do something that’s going to make him very happy,” referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“People don’t know how big Turkey is in terms of [its] military. They have a very strong military, because of [Erdogan],” he continued.

Asked about his expectations from the NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara, Trump said that he probably would not have agreed to attend were it not for Erdogan’s invitation.

Trump moreover hailed Erdogan for being a “strong man” and for doing “everything I’ve ever asked him for.”

He further stated that he “likes” his Turkish counterpart, whom he called “a friend of mine,” adding, “and he stayed out of the war, you know, he might have been a very strong candidate on the Iran side; because, as you know, he’s not a big fan of Israel and I asked him to stay out, and he did stay out.”

The exchange with reporters in the White House was held alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Israeli-Turkish relations have taken a nosedive ever since Erdogan assumed the presidency in 2014. The Turkish leader, accused by political analysts of eroding the country’s rule of law, restricting freedom of the press and imprisoning political opponents, has repeatedly expressed vehement anti-Israel views.

Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at Erdogan after the latter accused the Jewish state of threatening regional stability, saying that Israeli “aggression” poses a threat to the entire world and must be stopped.

In response, Netanyahu called Erdogan “an antisemitic tyrant,” accusing him of carrying out a genocide against the Kurds, supporting the Hamas terrorist group, repressing his own citizens and imprisoning political opponents.

Turkey was officially expelled in 2019 from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, which incorporates U.S. partners in the development and manufacturing of the F-35 stealth fighter, after it procured the Russian S-400 air defense systems.

Washington’s concern was that operating the Russian S-400 alongside the F-35 could pose a security risk.

The Trump administration is now expected to bypass a congressional review of a proposed $750 million sale of jet engines to Turkey, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) had put a freeze on the sale because of its Russian defense systems and growing influence in the Mideast and Mediterranean region, according to the report.

The lawmaker, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement on Wednesday that “The State Department did not even attempt to justify its decision” to override congressional review.

“It did not invoke any emergency authority, did not present a written rationale and for months refused to make a good-faith effort to brief me on implications of the sale for the U.S.-Turkey relationship, Turkey’s continued possession of the Russian S-400 system and other regional security concerns,” he continued.

“It simply informed my office that it would immediately proceed with a formal notification of the sale.”

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday at the Oval Office that the administration is “reviewing [the sale to Turkey] right now, because there are certain things that we have to certify have happened ... in order to comply with American law. The president has asked us to do that. We’re running the traps and confirming that’s happened.”