This is what happens when your president isn't a business associate of that absolute monster Recep Erdogan. I'm so glad Joe did the right thing here—and so embarrassed that this couldn't have gotten done *years* ago, largely (if not exclusively) because of Republican obstruction.
https://twitter.com/business/status/1385991228517494785
(PS) I wrote a book dealing significantly with Turkey, so this tweet wasn't from the hip. For years, there was a desire for this to happen *not* from the WH but Congress, and the GOP (but as I said *not exclusively* the GOP) blocked it. Biden made the call to do this from the WH.
(PS2) I am fully aware that America had over 100 years to get this right and that, *as I initially wrote*, it *did* therefore require inaction from *both* parties. But the political will to do this spiked in recent years among both parties but was blocked in Congress by the GOP.
(PS3) In my book I discuss, in a chapter on Trump and Turkey, that this declaration would've passed Congress—which would be preferable to it coming from the WH—had it not been blocked by Trump because of his self-confessed conflict of interest in Turkey. Hence my Trump reference.
(PS4) The claim that this was *equally* a fail by both contemporary major political parties is simply untrue, though *both* failed. But we would've had today's declaration *years* ago—after Erdogan strangled Turkish democracy in its crib—if not for staunch Republican opposition.
(PS5) There was a point—after the EU finally scuttled Turkey's EU membership several years ago—during which the diplomatic reasons (weak to begin with) not to make this announcement dissipated. So this vote should've happened in 2017. But it didn't, and that was because of Trump.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
