“Tell them, look, Turkey has been a great ally for me,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to Michigan.
“You know, I think he’s — he’s done a very good job, did a good job with Syria. He’s a friend of mine.
"And nobody tells me what we should be selling. And now Turkey has been a tremendous ally for me.”
Netanyahu has urged Washington not to provide Ankara with F-35s or engines for its fighter aircraft, arguing that the transfer would upset the regional balance of power and threaten Israel’s military advantage.
Turkey was removed from the F-35 program after purchasing Russia’s S-400 air defense system. Trump has nevertheless signaled that he is open to reversing course, saying during a July 7 meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the United States would “certainly consider” a sale.
Any agreement would still face legal restrictions and likely resistance in Congress.
Trump emphasized Turkey’s military strength while acknowledging the deep hostility between Erdogan’s government and Israel.
“Turkey is not a big fan of Israel. You know that, right?” Trump said. “Turkey has been great. Very powerful country, by the way. Tremendous military, very big military, very powerful military, has a lot of great equipment.”
Despite rejecting Netanyahu’s position on Turkey, Trump also praised the Israeli leader’s performance during the conflict with Iran.
“But Bibi has been great," Trump concluded. "He was a wartime prime minister. We did very well together. And if you look at Iran now, they’re 8% of what they were four months ago. They’re 8% of what they were four months ago. So we’ll see how this all comes out.” See video here.
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