In a segment taped for last night’s Republican National Convention, Trump spoke with Americans who had once been held hostage by foreign governments. Among them was Pastor Andrew Brunson who was held for 21 months for spreading Christianity in the Muslim nation. Trump’s response was to tell Brunson how wonderful Turkey’s authoritarian leader is.
Said Trump to Brunson: “28 years. They had you scheduled for a long time. We had to get you back. To me, President Erdoğan was very good.”
Today, the U.S. State Department denounced Turkey’s Erdoğan for harboring terrorists: “The United States strongly objects to Turkish President Erdogan hosting two Hamas leaders in Istanbul on August 22. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S and EU and both officials hosted by President Erdogan are Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The U.S. Rewards for Justice Program is seeking information about one of the individuals for his involvement in multiple terrorist attacks, hijackings, and kidnappings. President Erdogan’s continued outreach to this terrorist organization only serves to isolate Turkey from the international community, harms the interests of the Palestinian people, and undercuts global efforts to prevent terrorist attacks launched from Gaza.”
