ANKARA — Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday praised the bravery and unifying messages of former US President Donald Trump after an assassination attempt at a Saturday campaign rally, in one of the few phone calls the former American leader has had with world leaders since the incident.
Erdogan told Trump that his “bravery following the heinous attack is admirable, and that continuing his programs without interruption strengthened democracy,” according to a readout released by the Turkish presidency.
Trump’s campaign has not released a readout of the call as of this writing.
Erdogan also congratulated Trump for his official presidential nomination by the Republican Party. The party formally nominated Trump on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday.
“Erdogan said Trump demonstrated strong leadership following the assassination attempt through his calming messages of unity aimed at reducing polarization and tension,” according to the Turkish readout.
Erdogan became one of the few world leaders to speak with Trump following the assassination attempt, following the former president’s phone conversations with leaders of the United States' traditional allies, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Erdogan and Trump have shared close personal ties that weren't significantly impacted by the disagreements between Ankara and Washington during the former president’s tenure at the White House, including Turkey’s expulsion from the F-35 program under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) in 2019 due to its purchase of the Russian-made S-400 missile defense system and the imprisonment of American Pastor Andrew Brunson.
Brunson was released and returned to the United States after Trump threatened to wreak havoc on the Turkish economy in 2018. But the two leaders were able to renew their “bromance,” according to a memoir by John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser.
Turkey is home to a residential and business complex bearing the former president's name, and Erdogan, then prime minister, personally attended the launch of the towers in Istanbul in 2012, along with Trump and his daughter Ivanka.
