Donald Trump on Sunday was over the moon concerning the reelection of strongman Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Congratulations to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his massive and well-deserved victory in Turkey,” the previous president wrote on Truth Social. “I do know him nicely, he’s a buddy, and have discovered firsthand how a lot he loves his Nation and the nice folks of Turkey, which he has lifted to a brand new stage of prominence and respect!”
Anadolu Company through Getty Pictures
Erdogan gained a runoff over Kemal Kilicdaroglu, extending “his more and more authoritarian rule into a 3rd decade because the nation reels from excessive inflation and the aftermath of an earthquake that leveled whole cities,” The Associated Press wrote.
Earlier than the election, Ersin Kalaycioglu, a professor of political science at Istanbul’s Sabanci College, told The New York Times voters confronted a selection of “happening the street to authoritarianism or switching monitor and going again to democracy.”
Erdogan has squeezed Turkey’s media freedom and political expression by penalizing and investigating journalists who criticize his insurance policies, HuffPost previously reported. In a single occasion, Turkey’s media regulator fined broadcasters who questioned the Turkish chief’s response to a recent earthquake that killed tens of 1000’s.
Trump, who’s now the main Republican candidate for 2024, as soon as praised Erdogan as a “hell of a leader.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin shared Trump’s enthusiasm, calling Erdogan’s victory on Sunday “a pure results of your selfless work as the pinnacle of the Republic of Turkey,” Mediaite noted.
President Joe Biden, in the meantime, took a extra muted strategy: “I stay up for persevering with to work collectively as NATO Allies on bilateral points and shared international challenges,” he mentioned, per Reuters.
