Why it matters: The meeting, hosted by President Trump, included five Republican U.S. senators who’ve been among the most vocal critics of Turkey’s invasion of Syria and attacks on the U.S.’s Kurdish allies in the fight against ISIS.

The meeting comes as Erdoğan is trying to avoid sanctions over the purchase of a Russian missile defense system.

Erdoğan apparently thought he could sway these senators by forcing them to watch a clunky propaganda film.

The senators in the meeting took turns pushing back on Erdoğan, while Trump sat back and watched, intervening occasionally to play traffic cop.