Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu slammed the US Speaker of the House saying she “will learn to respect the Turkish people’s will" before tagging US President Donald Trump in the same tweet.
"[Nancy Pelosi's] rise to become Speaker of the House is what is truly worrisome for American democracy, given her blatant ignorance. You will learn to respect the Turkish people’s will. @realDonaldTrump," Çavuşoğlu wrote on Twitter about the US Speaker of the House..
.@SpeakerPelosi’s rise to become Speaker of the House is what is truly worrisome for American democracy, given her blatant ignorance. You will learn to respect the Turkish people’s will. @realDonaldTrump
— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) September 25, 2020
However, Nate Schenkkan, the director of Special Research at Freedom House, highlighted that “Turkey slams Nancy Pelosi for implying Turkey is not a democracy... on a day Turkey arrests 82 members of an opposition political party for protests in 2014."
https://twitter.com/nateschenkkan/status/1309495035168260096
Yesterday, Turkey arrested 82 people, especially from the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party, because of their 2014 protest against the Turkish-backed ISIS offensive against the northern Syrian town of Kobane, which is overwhelmingly populated by Kurds.
However, what triggered Çavuşoğlu's outburt against Pelosi?
The US Speaker of the House in response to Trump’s unclear answer to a peaceful transfer of power in the US if he is to lose the November presidential elections, highlighted there is a clear difference between the US and other authoritarian governments.
“You are not in North Korea, you are not in Turkey, you are not in Russia, Mr. President... you are not in Saudi Arabia. You are in the United States of America. It is a democracy,” she said.
She then highlighted Trump’s close personal relation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“We do know who he admires. He admires Putin, he admires Kim Jong Un, he admires Erdoğan in Turkey," Pelosi said.
It is for this reason that Çavuşoğlu felt confident enough to tag Trump in his Twitter attack against Pelosi.
Last month, Trump also said in an interview on Fox News that he gets “along” with Erdoğan and that the Turkish president “listens” to him, prompting people to question why then Trump has not ordered Erdoğan to deescalate tensions with Greece.
Last week, Trump did not hide away from his close relationship with his Turkish counterpart, saying that he gets along with Erdoğan “very well.”
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton also described Trump's relationship with Erdoğan as a "bromance."
In addition, an investigative report conducted by European watchdog Organized Crime & Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) found that Erdoğan’s government through Brian Ballard, Trump’s close confidant, have become one of the most powerful lobbyist in Washington.
With such a close relationship between Trump and Erdoğan, it is with little wonder that Çavuşoğlu felt confident enough to tag Trump in his Twitter attack against Pelosi.
