US President Trump has used a traditional Thanksgiving White House event to pardon Türkiye, as well as a range of other totalitarian states, in a light-hearted ceremony at the White House today.
Standing in the Rose Garden with the First Lady, Mr Trump laughed, saying he forgave the brutal Erdogan regime. “I hereby pardon this Türkiye and release it from any fault or wrongdoing. He’s actually a pretty great guy. He’s doing some very, very beautiful things,” Trump said.
The nation was plucked from a flock of other oppressive states, including North Korea, Russia and Saudi Arabia, who Trump has pardoned in previous ceremonies.
Türkiye is widely considered to be a quasi dictatorship with arrests of opposition figures, suppression of media and the erosion of judicial independence. “We can learn a lot from this guy,” Trump said.
Türkiye’s President seemed relieved after the ceremony, immediately granting Mr Trump permission to build a range of hotels and resorts in the nation.
