President Trump counts Xi Jinping as a "good friend," boasts of his "great relationship" with Rodrigo Duterte, and has an autographed Elton John CD to gift to Kim Jong Un. On Monday, he met one-on-one with Vladimir Putin for more than two hours, after basking in the Russian president's apparent praise for months.
So it may come as no surprise that Trump reportedly counts Turkish President Recep Erdogan among his coterie of authoritarian bros. CBS News' Ian Bremmer reported Monday that at last week's highly contentious NATO summit, where Trump pressed allies to spend more on defense, Trump cited the Turkish strongman as an example of a leader who "does things the right way":
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 inflammatory cartoons on the L.A. wildfiresCartoons Artists take on climate change denial, the blame game, and more
-
The problems with the current social care systemThe Explainer The question of how to pay for adult social care is perhaps the greatest unresolved policy issue of our time
-
Austria's new government: poised to join Putin's gangTalking Point Opening for far-right Freedom Party would be a step towards 'the Putinisation of central Europe'
-
DeSantis appoints Florida's top lawyer to US SenateSpeed Read The state's attorney general, Ashley Moody, will replace Sen. Marco Rubio in the Senate
-
Pam Bondi downplays politics at confirmation hearingSpeed Read Trump's pick for attorney general claimed her Justice Department would not prosecute anyone for political reasons
-
Biden warns of oligarchy in farewell addressSpeed Read The president issued a stark warning about the dangers of unchecked power in the hands of the ultra-wealthy
-
Hegseth boosts hopes for confirmation amid grillingSpeed Read The Senate held confirmation hearings for Pete Hegseth, Trump's Defense Secretary nominee
-
Biden removes Cuba from terrorism blacklistSpeed read The move is likely to be reversed by the incoming Trump administration, as it was Trump who first put Cuba on the terrorism blacklist in his first term
-
South Korea arrests impeached presidentspeed read Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been detained, making him the first sitting president to be arrested in the country's history
-
House GOP unveils bill for Trump to buy GreenlandSpeed Read The bill would allow the U.S. to purchase the Danish territory — or procure it through economic or military force
-
DOJ releases Trump Jan. 6 special counsel reportSpeed Read Jack Smith's report details the president-elect's "criminal efforts to retain power" amid the 2020 election
