Trump Reportedly Congratulates Turkish President Erdogan After Referendum Passes Expanding His Powers

According to multiple reports, President Donald Trump called Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Monday to congratulate him after the Turkish leader won a referendum which will expand the scope of his powers:

BREAKING Presidential sources: US President Trump calls Turkish President Erdoğan to congratulate him on #Turkeyreferendum result. pic.twitter.com/4UtWsMPXyU

— CNN Türk ENG (@CNNTURK_ENG) April 17, 2017

Trump called Turkey's Erdogan to congratulate him on referendum win – Turkish sources https://t.co/mD6s7SWlEm pic.twitter.com/zu0DduvjuF

— Reuters UK (@ReutersUK) April 17, 2017

Reuters reports that Erdoğan won Sunday’s vote with 51.4 percent coming down in favor of giving Erdoğan more power.

The result is being challenged by opposition groups in Turkey, and people have already taken to the streets to protest.

A White House readout from the call is expected to be released later today.

UPDATE –– 8:40 pm ET: The White House has released the readout, confirming that Trump did congratulate Erdogan:

Here's the readout of the Trump/Erdogan call. Trump congratulated him on the referendum pic.twitter.com/I7xUIvVNLD

— Rosie Gray (@RosieGray) April 18, 2017

[images via Shutterstock]

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