Turkish President Erdogan Reportedly Tossed Trump’s ‘Don’t Be a Fool’ Letter in a Trash Can
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reportedly threw away the warning letter President Donald Trump sent him on October 9 advising the authoritarian leader not to carry out an invasion of Kurdish territory in northern Syria.
While Trump told Erdoğan not “to be a fool,” sources with knowledge of the Turkish president’s actions told the BBC that he did not take the U.S. leader’s advice to heart, as he instead opted to toss the message “in the bin.” More notably, Erdoğan has continued to pursue military action in the region, even ramping up the Turkish military offensive in recent days with the goal of ethnically cleansing the Kurds from the region.
In the White House letter, Trump recommended Erdoğan find a peaceful resolution with the Kurds.
“You don’t want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don’t want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy – and I will,” Trump wrote. “History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don’t happen.”
After insisting that the Turks and Kurds “can make a great deal,” the president concluded his letter with a strong warning: “History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don’t happen. Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool!”
On Wednesday, Trump told reporters gathered in the White House that he did not give Erdoğan the “green light” to invade Syria, but he stood by his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from the region.
