Skip to main content

Turkey takes aim at Biden after old comments on Erdogan resurface

Turkish politicians are expressing outrage over presumptive US presidential candidate Joe Biden calling for the Turkish president's ouster back in December, likely because Recep Tayyip Erdogan is using them to whip up nationalist fervor against the United States.
US Vice President Joe Biden (L)attends a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey on the sidelines of the nuclear summit in Washington, DC, on March 31, 2016. / AFP / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS        (Photo credit should read ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

The furor over comments by presumptive US Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in December — in which he called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an “autocrat” and said he would help his opponents to replace him — shows no signs of abating, even though the former vice president made them so long ago. “You are no match for this nation, you brazen man!” howled the pro-government daily Yeni Safak today. “Know your place,” warned Yeni Akit, another government mouthpiece.

They were taking their cues from Erdogan’s lieutenants. His head of communications Fahrettin Altun said Biden’s words reflected an “interventionist approach” toward Turkey. “No one can attack our national will,” he fumed. Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin vented via Twitter, saying, “The days of ordering Turkey around are over,” and that those who dared do so would “pay the price.”

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.