WH Says Trump’s Congratulatory Call to Erdogan Was Not an Acceptance of Election Result

Defending President Trump’s decision to congratulate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following Sunday’s controversial referendum win, a White House spokeswoman said Tuesday “the president’s number one job is to keep Americans safe.”

“And if he needs to work with countries like Turkey and others to do that, I think that’s his priority and that’s what his focus is,” deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Wisconsin.

By a narrow margin, Turks voted to move from a parliamentary to an executive presidential system, granting sweeping new powers to an Islamist leader whose crackdown on dissent has drawn widespread criticism.

Sanders confirmed that Trump had congratulated Erdogan in a phone call Monday but when asked whether this amounted to acceptance of the referendum result, she said “no,” adding that the administration is encouraging an international observer mission to “take a close look at those election results.”

 

Read More: WH Says Trump’s Congratulatory Call to Erdogan Was Not an Acceptance of Election Result