news analysis
President Trump has turned the central tenet of American diplomacy on its head by embracing leaders who reject democratic principles.
When President Joseph R. Biden Jr. convened Democratic summits at the White House in 2021 and 2023, he pointedly disinvited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a man he once called an “autocrat” who deserved to be removed from office by voters.
On Tuesday, President Trump gave a much more glowing assessment of the Turkish president, even as protesters filled the streets after the arrest of Istanbul's mayor, Mr. Erdogan's main political rival.
“A good leader,” the president said of Mr. Erdogan during a meeting of his ambassadors at the White House. He made no mention of the arrest or the protests.
Since taking office 66 days ago, Mr. Trump has upended a central tenet of American diplomacy: He embraces — rather than condemns — fellow leaders who abandon democratic principles. Years of bipartisan efforts to strengthen democratic institutions around the world have been replaced by a president who praises leaders moving toward autocracy.
And Mr. Trump’s own actions — retaliating against his political rivals, attacking law firms, journalists and universities, and questioning the authority of the judiciary — offer new models for democratically elected leaders in countries like Serbia and Israel that have already shown a willingness to push the boundaries of their own institutions.
