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President Trump has now said that he hasn’t fully decided whether to let Turkey back into the F-35 fighter jet program, seven years after he kicked the country out of it himself.
Some shit you should know before you dig in: If you’re unaware, Trump booted Turkey from the F-35 program back in 2019 during his first term. Ankara had gone ahead and picked up Russian-made S-400 air defense systems despite repeated US warnings not to. The concern was that Turkey possessing Russian air defense tech could let Moscow gather intelligence on the stealth jet, with the White House saying at the time, “The F-35 cannot coexist with a Russian intelligence collection platform that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities.” The ban is codified in law, including a provision requiring the administration to certify the S-400s are neutralized before Turkey can access the jets, plus sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. Turkey has lobbied for a reversal ever since, and Trump has pursued warmer ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan since returning to office.
What’s going on now: Speaking at a press conference closing out the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday, Trump said he hasn’t made a final call but sounded pretty open about where he’s headed.
“I haven’t totally made up my mind, but my inclination is to say, look, he’s done everything, he’s helped us in so many different ways,” Trump said of Erdogan.
Trump also called Erdogan a “very good ally” and credited him with staying out of the Iran war “by request,” saying, “He’s not a huge fan of Bibi or Israel, but he stayed out of that war.” A day earlier, sitting beside Erdogan, Trump announced the US would lift the S-400 sanctions, saying, “I can tell you we’re going to be taking the sanctions off. OK? I don’t want him to waste his time answering that question.” Lifting sanctions doesn’t automatically clear the way for F-35 sales, but it’s a step in that direction.
Erdogan said Turkey had been “promised five jets,” called his talks with Trump “very fruitful,” and brushed off Israeli and Greek objections, saying they “have no place in my world.”
The pushback is already rolling in. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Washington not to approve the sale, arguing it could undermine Israel’s air superiority, and told CNN, “If you give this kind of radical regime, that admittedly smiles to the president of the United States when it’s necessary, when you give it that power, you’re going to see aggression in its wake.”
In Congress, Senator John Cornyn responded to reports of the potential reversal with “I hope this is wrong,” while Senator Jeanne Shaheen said reinstating Turkey could be beneficial if there’s a satisfactory agreement on the S-400s, adding, “We still have questions to answer with respect to what is being proposed.”
