Trump's latest dictator-bro is apparently Turkish President Recep Ergodan
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":
"Trump was very frustrated; he wasn't getting commitments from other leaders to spend more. Many of them said, 'Well, we have to ask our parliaments. We have a process; we can't just tell you we're going to spend more, we have a legal process.' Trump turns around to the Turkish president, Recep Erdogan, and says, 'Except for Erdogan over here. He does things the right way,' and then actually fist-bumps the Turkish president." [Ian Bremmer, via CBS News]
Bremmer noted that Trump's open lauding of Erdogan's methods is just a bit alarming, given his "executive presidency [and] the purges that have gone on internally. Turkey is hardly a liberal democracy at this point." But what's a little authoritarianism among friends?
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.
Watch Bremmer's full report below. Kimberly Alters
-
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl: A win for unityFeature The global superstar's halftime show was a celebration for everyone to enjoy
-
Book reviews: ‘Bonfire of the Murdochs’ and ‘The Typewriter and the Guillotine’Feature New insights into the Murdoch family’s turmoil and a renowned journalist’s time in pre-World War II Paris
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in Geneva
Speed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
