US President Donald Trump said Thursday, September 25, that his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan "knows about rigged elections better than anybody," as he drew common ground with the leader often accused of autocratic behavior.
Trump, who falsely claims election fraud thwarted his 2020 presidential bid, said he and Erdogan stayed friends while he was out of office − a period the American called "exile."
And Erdogan, in power since 2014, earned Trump's praise Thursday despite a crackdown in Turkey on the opposition and the media. "This is a guy who's highly opinionated. Usually, I don't like opinionated people, but I always like this one, but he's a tough one," Trump said as he hosted Erdogan in Washington.
It was Erdogan's first bilateral visit to the White House since 2019 during Trump's first term, with former president Joe Biden having a tense relationship with the Turkish leader he labeled an "autocrat."
Under Erdogan, authorities have targeted Turkey's main opposition party with repeated arrests including of Istanbul's powerful mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who has been detained since March on corruption allegations he denies.
Trump has sought to sideline democratic checks and balances since he returned to office in January.
He has also long shown admiration for autocratic leaders, often positively highlighting how long certain heads of state have managed to hold on to power.
In August, Trump heaped praise on Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev − who has led the former Soviet republic for 22 years − when he visited Washington. "That's a long time, and the only reason you can be in a country that long is when you're very smart and very confident," he said.
Trump himself has repeatedly teased the prospect of seeking a third term, something barred by the US Constitution.
On Thursday, Trump signaled that the United States might soon lift its hold on sales of advanced fighter jets to Ankara. During the president’s first term, the US removed Turkey, a NATO ally, from its flagship F-35 fighter jet program after Turkey purchased an air defense system from Russia. US officials worried that Turkey's use of Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missile system could be used to gather data on the capabilities of the F-35 and that the information could end up in Russian hands.
Trump started his two-hour meeting with Erdogan by offering hope that a resolution to the matter could be found during the leaders' talks. "He needs certain things, and we need certain things, and we’re going to come to a conclusion. You’ll know by the end of the day," Trump said. The president added to Erdogan, "And I think you’ll be successful with buying the things" you would "like to buy."
After their meeting, the US president said he believed that Erdogan would stop buying oil from Russia − not that Turkey’s leader had directly committed to doing so during their discussion. "I don’t want to say that" Erdogan agreed to stop the purchases, "but if I want him to, he will," Trump said.
Trump added that Erdogan is respected by both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "I think he could have a big influence if he wants to," Trump said.
The push on Erdogan to become more engaged in pressuring Putin comes after Trump earlier this week said he believed Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia in the war. It was a dramatic shift from Trump's repeated calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end the war.