WASHINGTON — The only reason President Donald Trump is in Ankara, Turkey, for the NATO summit is his friendship with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
That’s according to the president himself, who told reporters ahead of his visit, “If the summit was not taking place in Türkiye, I don’t think I would have gone to it. I’m going out of respect to President Erdoğan.”
The president is deeply frustrated with NATO and has criticized NATO for years, most notably since the war with Iran began, repeatedly calling out United States allies who wouldn’t support the operation against Iran.
Erdoğan, meanwhile, has consistently delivered on what Trump has asked for, and the president remains grateful.
“I was very disappointed with NATO, and frankly, if it weren’t held in Turkey, where my friend happens to be a very strong leader, a very strong person, it’s possible that I wouldn’t have attended,” Trump said during a bilateral meeting with Erdoğan on Tuesday. “I felt I had to attend because of the fact that, you know, I know he’s gone all out.”
Erdoğan has been an “incredible partner in the region,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told The Daily Wire on Tuesday, describing the two leaders as having a “great relationship.”
Most recently, Trump says he personally called Erdoğan and asked him to stay out of the Iran war amid rumors that Turkey would assist Iran, given that Erdoğan is openly against Israel. Erdoğan agreed to Trump’s request, keeping Turkey neutral throughout the conflict despite regional pressure.
“We didn’t need any help at all,” Trump said of the matter on Tuesday, “And in a way, I was testing people, I was testing to see whether or not they’d be there, because I’ve long said that we helped them, but I’m not sure that they’d be there for us. And Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down, and France turned us down, and it’s okay, but you know, why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars and they’re not there for us? We’ve always been there for them.”
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) walks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a state arrival ceremony at the Bestepe Presidential Complex for the annual NATO Summit on July 7, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Erdoğan also agreed to huge liquefied natural gas (LNG) procurement contracts with the United States as a business favor to President Trump in 2025, a move seen as an effort to curry favor with Trump and his new administration. The Turkish leader also pushed European and NATO allies to buy LNG in order to reduce trade deficits.
Trump and Erdoğan came to an agreement during Trump’s first term in office to release Pastor Andrew Brunson from captivity in Turkey — Brunson, an American evangelical pastor, had been accused of spying and terrorism and was detained in Turkey until Trump successfully negotiated his release in 2018. Trump specifically brought this up on Tuesday, noting that he was grateful for Brunson’s release.
And in 2019, Erdoğan twice conceded to requests from Trump: he backed off his threat to veto NATO’s plans to defend the Baltic states and Poland and allowed NATO’s defense plans to move forward after meeting privately with Trump. Erdoğan similarly fulfilled Trump’s request for Turkey to take over the U.S fight against ISIS in northern Syria.
Trump is now considering approving a sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. The sale would likely prove contentious since Turkey was removed from the F-35 program in 2019 after the country purchased Russian S-400 air defense systems. That move prompted concerns that Russia would have access to sensitive information about the U.S. fighter jet.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that the United States should not sell the jets to Turkey, saying that it would “upset the power balance” in the Middle East.
“I don’t think they should be given F-35s or the engines for their fighter jets, because that’ll upset the power balance in the Middle East which is ultimately guaranteed by Israeli air superiority and also by, I think, by America’s posture in the Middle East,” Netanyahu said on Fox & Friends.
Erdoğan reminded reporters of President Trump’s promise on Tuesday. “I believe that President Trump also has made a promise on this separately, and during the meeting of the leaders’ summit, we do hope that the promise that we have previously received is going to be productively tested towards the future. President Trump has always been a man of his word, and hopefully with respect to the F-35.”
During Tuesday’s bilateral, Trump said he has “good chemistry” with Erdoğan, adding, “we’ve had a very special relationship.” He noted that the two leaders would be discussing trade, the military, and Iran, noting of the F-35s, “It’s a decision we’re going to make. It’s a very good relationship.”
“Because of the relationship that we have, it’s all gone very well,” he added, “I want to say I have a lot of respect for the president.”