Yet, in his joint news conference with Erdogan, Trump went out of his way to praise Turkey as a “great NATO ally” and “strategic partner.” That might sound like boilerplate for a meeting with a foreign counterpart, but at this particular moment it runs counter to reality. Even though Turkey has worked with affiliates of al-Qaida throughout much of the Syria conflict and has deployed extremist groups to fight in its recent push into Syria, Trump also declared, “We’re grateful to President Erdogan and to the citizens of Turkey for their cooperation in the constant struggle against terrorism. He fights it like we do.” Trump then repeated Turkish talking points about the Syria invasion, while also promising to complete a $100 billion U.S.-Turkish trade agreement.
In other words: a full exoneration.
The rosy picture Trump painted of Turkey as a democratic ally is based on fables handed down since the country became a NATO member in 1952. It is not terribly different from how Americans view the turkey as a friendly symbol of American values, when in fact the birds are often nasty and aggressive around people. The real Turkey shares neither America’s interests nor its values, and, quite unlike a member of the Transatlantic alliance is supposed to act, Turkey has aggressively pursued its foreign policy goals at Washington’s expense.
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