Will President Donald Trump sell the F-35 stealth fighter to Türkiye? He was expected to make such an announcement at the NATO summit in Ankara, but didn’t do so during a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Well, it’s a decision we’re going to make,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “Why wouldn’t we do that,” Trump asked rhetorically.
He claimed that “we have a better relationship with Türkiye” even than during his first term, “and Türkiye’s been in many ways much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal. So yeah, something certainly we would consider.”
It was Trump who banned Türkiye from buying the F-35 in 2019 after Erdogan went through with the purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system. Congress then codified the ban in 2020. How, exactly, Trump plans to get around the congressional ban on the U.S. fighter jet sales remains unclear.
CNN reported earlier that many Republicans in Congress are skeptical of transferring F-35s to Türkey.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is conducting what amounts to a media campaign against Trump’s favorability to such a sale. Netanyahu claimed on Fox News this week that such a move would “upset the balance of power in the Middle East, which is ultimately guaranteed by Israel’s air superiority and also America’s posture in the Middle East.”
Today on CNN, Netanyahu turned up the rhetoric against Trump allowing the U.S. jet sales to Türkiye. Netanuyahu said, it is wrong, and like selling weapons to the Ottoman Empire.
But as Trump himself reiterates, he considers Erdogan a friend, and has tasked senior administration officials with reviewing the matter to find a solution that would adhere to the law.
“He’s a strong member of NATO,” Trump said last month. “I’m going to probably do something that’s going to make him very happy.” In other words, Trump would be rewarding Erdogan for his good behavior.
