Quote · The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2453 - They HATE America…And Here’s Their Plan To Conquer It
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The Erdoğan Problem: Turkey's NATO Loyalty vs. Hamas Support and Ottoman Ambitions
At 47:14 · chapter starts 46:00
One of the episode's sharpest foreign policy critiques targets the Trump administration's embrace of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In clips from the Trump-Rutte meeting, Trump calls Erdoğan 'a good man' and promises him 'something that's going to make him very happy' during an upcoming visit — apparently including F-35 parts. Rutte extols Turkey's 3,000-company defense industrial base. But Shapiro catalogs Erdoğan's actual record: holding Russian S-400 air defense systems that got Turkey expelled from the F-35 program; openly supporting Hamas; publicly talking about restoring Ottoman-era influence throughout the Middle East; and maintaining close ties with Russia. The infiltration of Turkish and Qatari foreign policy preferences into American decision-making, Shapiro argues, is 'disastrous' and works at cross-purposes with genuine US strategic interests in the region.
Trump told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte he doesn't need money or troops from allies — he just wants loyalty. He called out Germany, the UK, Italy, France, and Spain specifically after European allies offered only words during the Iran conflict. Rutte countered that 4,000–5,000 US planes flew from European bases during the 6-week war.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told President Trump that 4,000 to 5,000 US planes took off from European bases during the 6-week Iran war, arguing European allies did support the US.
Shapiro argues Trump's praise of Turkish President Erdoğan is a serious foreign policy error. Erdoğan holds Russian S-400 air defense systems, openly supports Hamas, publicly talks about restoring Ottoman influence across the Middle East, and is allied with Russia — yet Trump called him a 'good man' and promised a 'gift bag' visit.
