Bizarre letter to Erdogan: 'Don't be a fool, don't be a tough guy'

Trump sent an extraordinarily unpresidential letter to Turkish President Erdogan as Turkish forces attacked U.S.-allied Kurdish forces in Syria. The letter read like a mobster's threat mixed with playground taunts: 'Let's work out a good deal! You don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don't want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy—and I will. Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool!' The letter asked Erdogan to negotiate with a Kurdish commander Trump had just abandoned, while threatening to destroy Turkey's economy if Erdogan didn't comply. Erdogan reportedly threw the letter in the trash. The letter was leaked weeks later, causing widespread ridicule and horror at Trump's childish approach to serious foreign policy. It crystallized Trump's belief that personal relationships and strongman posturing could substitute for coherent foreign policy strategy.

"Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool!" — Trump's letter to Erdogan, October 9, 2019