OPINION:
On Tuesday, President Trump said he was willing to consider selling the F-35 to Turkey.
The president, who is in Ankara, Turkey, for the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit this week, signaled in September 2025 that he could readmit Turkey to the fighter jet program. More recently, the State Department said it would bypass congressional opposition to the sale of some $700 million in jet engines to Turkey.
Last year, after a NATO meeting in The Hague, Mr. Erdogan said a new door was opening in U.S.-Turkish relations. He said, “With my friend Trump, we are opening the door to a new era in Turkish‑American relations. … When we call, the other side responds within 24 hours.”
Given Turkey’s — and Mr. Erdogan’s — conduct on other matters, why is Mr. Trump so close to the Turkish despot?
The first reason Mr. Trump should be skeptical about Mr. Erdogan is that the Turkish president has turned his nation into an Islamist state. In the latest example, comedian Deniz Goktas was arrested on his return to Turkey for insulting Mr. Erdogan and Islam.
Still, Mr. Erdogan’s Islamization of Turkey goes far deeper.
In the earliest days of his power, Mr. Erdogan effectively banned secularists from membership in the Turkish military. Only Islamists of the Sunni sect were permitted to be military leaders. Mr. Erdogan expelled the other members of the Turkish forces.
On the public side, Mr. Erdogan’s government has heavily funded religious education and injected more Islamic content into academic schools, fulfilling Mr. Erdogan’s stated goal of raising a “pious generation.”
Moreover, the budget and workforce of his government’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) have swelled tremendously, allowing the institution to extend its influence deep into social domains, politics and foreign policy.
As if that were not enough to stir Mr. Trump’s skepticism, Mr. Erdogan is an avowed enemy of Israel and a friend of both Hamas, which he calls a “liberation group,” not terrorists, and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Mr. Erdogan has often accused Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip. He has also harshly criticized Israeli actions in Syria and Lebanon and has compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler. He has openly threatened to destroy Israel.
In 2024, Mr. Erdogan severed diplomatic and trade relations with Israel. Israel recently responded by recognizing the Armenian genocide of 1915-1923 by the Ottoman Empire (Turkey’s predecessor).
Mr. Erdogan wants the F-35 badly. As a NATO member, Turkey was expected to get the aircraft. Yet Turkey was removed from the F-35 program in 2019 after purchasing Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems.
The U.S. has distrusted Turkey since — a fact Mr. Trump should not casually dismiss. Why? Because it would have been simple for Russian engineers to pore over Turkish F-35s and reengineer their stealthy aircraft, as well as the S-400 and S-500 systems. Chinese engineers could and would do the same. Such intelligence information would be of great value to Russia and China.
Mr. Erdogan has since sought to co-produce Russian S-500 anti-aircraft systems that are even more advanced than the S-400, but the plan has not yet produced any S-500s.
As to Mr. Erdogan’s conduct toward other NATO allies, his government continues to occupy northern Cyprus and violate Greek airspace almost daily. The violation peaked in 2022, with more than 10,000 violations.
These are not the actions of a trusted ally. They are the actions of the Islamist state that Turkey has become under Mr. Erdogan. NATO has no room for Turkey, and the country should be expelled, as this column explained in July 2019.
Mr. Trump would be wise to change his mind and continue to deny Turkey F-35 sales. Turkey is unwilling to keep our secrets.
• Jed Babbin is a national security and foreign affairs columnist for The Washington Times and a contributing editor for The American Spectator.
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