Trump's Thanksgiving Friday: Talking to Turkey about 'bringing peace to the mess' in Middle East
President Trump plans to spend the Friday after Thanksgiving on the phone with a key global leader and on the golf course with two notable professionals.
Trump announced by Twitter his plan to talk with Turkey leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan about “bringing peace to the mess that I inherited in the Middle East.”
The Erdogan call comes as Turkey, Russia, and Iran work on a plan to reach a political settlement to the civil war in Syria.Â
Trump also managed to work in criticism of unnamed predecessors over Middle East policy.
“Will be speaking to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey this morning about bringing peace to the mess that I inherited in the Middle East,” Trump said. “I will get it all done, but what a mistake, in lives and dollars (6 trillion), to be there in the first place!”
Will be speaking to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey this morning about bringing peace to the mess that I inherited in the Middle East. I will get it all done, but what a mistake, in lives and dollars (6 trillion), to be there in the first place!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 24, 2017
Trump spoke Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin before he left for Thanksgiving weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.
Trump has used the $6 trillion figure before to describe the costs of U.S. involvement in Middle East conflicts, but has never specified how he arrives at that amount.
The Associated Press reports that “fact checkers have found that number to be only partially accurate since it falls on the high end of analysts’ estimates and includes future medical care and disability benefits and nation-building costs.”Â
In September, Trump praised Erdogan as a “friend” during a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, despite global criticism of his increasingly authoritarian rule in Turkey. Just before that meeting, the U.S. protested a physical attack on protestors at the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C.
In another tweet on Friday, the president said he would follow up the Turkey phone call by visiting Trump National Golf Club – “quickly” – for a round with professional stars Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson. “Then back to Mar-a-Lago for talks on bringing even more jobs and companies back to the USA!”Â
Trump’s pledge to play a “quick” game comes as Trump’s critics mock him for the amount of time he spends on the golf course, just as Trump took aim at predecessor Barack Obama for his golf game.
More: President Trump has visited a Trump property on 34 out of his 45 weekends in office
More: Donald Trump tweets more about NFL anthem protests, writes that ‘players are the boss’
As part of a brief morning tweet storm, Trump again criticized the National Football League and Commissioner Roger Goodell over players kneeling during the national anthem.
“Can you believe that the disrespect for our Country, our Flag, our Anthem continues without penalty to the players,” the president said. “The Commissioner has lost control of the hemorrhaging league. Players are the boss!”
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