With Donald Trump slated to return to the White House, US-Turkish relations promise to improve even as risks and opportunities beckon in the face of regional and global issues and may depend on how the two strong-willed presidents get along.

When it became clear on Wednesday that Trump had won a second, non-consecutive term in the White House, Turkish media outlets and social media users responded with a mix of joy, humor and apprehension. Some were happy that Trump emerged the winner because of the Biden administration’s seemingly unconditional support for Israel’s war against Gaza and for Syrian Kurdish elements that Ankara considers to be terrorist outfits.

Others drew parallels between the Democrats’ washout and the similarly doomed campaign that the Turkish opposition ran against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in last year’s presidential and parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, experts, although agreeing that four more years of Trump are likely to improve ties between Ankara and Washington, also warned that Trump could be unpredictable, recalling that his first term was not smooth sailing for US-Turkish relations.

Syria and Israel-Palestine risks