An autocratic ruler took another step away from democracy in Turkey, and Donald Trump is thrilled for him. Trump called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to congratulate him for a narrow, disputed win on a frightening referendum, according to a brief readout of the call released by the White House:
The statement did not say whether Mr. Trump had raised independent reports of voting irregularities during the Turkish referendum or the government’s heavy-handed tactics in the weeks leading up to it, when the country was under a state of emergency. The State Department noted both issues in a more cautious, less laudatory statement issued a few hours earlier.
The White House was also silent about the long-term implications of the referendum, which some experts have likened to a deathblow to democracy in Turkey. Mr. Erdogan’s narrow victory, in effect, ratifies his authoritarian rule. The change to Turkey’s Constitution will allow the winner of the 2019 presidential election to assume full control of the government, ending the current parliamentary political system.
There are serious questions about the administration of the voting, and “Turkey's main opposition party has filed a formal request seeking the referendum to be annulled because of voting irregularities.”
Ivanka Trump is reportedly an Erdogan fan, thanking him in 2012 “for joining us yesterday to celebrate the launch of #TrumpTowers Istanbul!” During the 2016 presidential campaign, as Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric heated up, Erdogan called for Trump’s name to be taken off the building, but after Trump’s Electoral College win, Erdogan not only congratulated him but railed against anti-Trump protesters. And by Trump standards, that makes them practically best friends. For now.