Trump says he was 'testing' NATO allies with call for help in Hormuz

Shortly after he touched down in Ankara for the NATO summit Tuesday, President Donald Trump made it clear he's put a premium on loyalty — so much so that he may attempt to resume stealth fighter jet sales to Turkey, a practice he helped ban during his first term over national security concerns. “I have no concerns about anything having to do with Turkey. The relationship, I would say the relationship with Turkey right now is better probably than it’s ever been," Trump told reporters during a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdoan, with whom he has a friendly relationship. In 2020, Trump signed legislation passed by Congress to end F-35 sales to Turkey after the country acquired a Russian S-400 long-range air defense system. When asked about potentially resuming Turkish access to F-35s, Trump gestured to members of his cabinet and said, “Many people, including the people sitting right here, think, why wouldn’t we do that? We have a better relationship with Turkey and Turkey’s been in many ways much more loyal that other countries that we think would be loyal.” Trump was referring to NATO members who did not follow his call to send warships to restore order in the Strait of Hormuz two months into the Iran war. "We got no help, zero from NATO," Trump said at a rally in May. Many European leaders doubted the legitimacy of the United States' and Israel's decision to go to war with Iran. The consensus from NATO allies was that they would send assistance when the fighting stopped, but had no appetite for joining the conflict. On Tuesday, Trump claimed he never wanted their help. “We didn’t need any help at all. And in a way, I was testing people. I was testing to see whether or not they’d be there," Trump said. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said while there were "individual cases where he is rightly disappointed," the United States "probably could not have done" Operation Epic Fury without access to European military bases. "Here was Europe again as one big platform of power projection for the United States’ delivery," Rutte said in an interview in Ankara. "And then when it comes to the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, only last Friday, it was the French and the Brits leading this big coalition of 40 countries announcing that they will now move forward together with the Omani(s) to guarantee the freedom of navigation." READ MORE: https://13wham.com/news/nation-world/... _______________ Stay up to date with our social media: 13 WHAM on Facebook:   / 13wham   13 WHAM on Twitter:   / 13wham   13WHAM on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/13whamtv/?h... 13WHAM on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@13wham?lang=en 13 WHAM Daily Local News Digest:    • 13WHAM Local News Digest   For more information, visit https://13wham.com/ Have a news tip? Send it directly to us: Email us: [email protected] Call the Newsroom: (585) 334-8700 WHAM is a NY based station and a ABC Television affiliate owned and operated by Deerfield Media, Inc and receives certain services from an affiliation of Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today. #13WHAM #News #Rochester #NewYork