This hasn’t gotten a ton of attention, but tucked away in the defense spending bill President Trump signed yesterday is a provision to block the transfer of 100 F-35 fighter jets to NATO ally Turkey over a growing rift between the two countries:
#BREAKING: #Turkey Air Force (#THK) F-35As (18-0001 & 02) will be put in storage at #USAF's Luke AFB this week. Their #Turkish pilots will return their country with their training incomplete as the #US President #Trump signed #NDAA banning delivery of F-35s to #Erdogan's regime. pic.twitter.com/j4kEMn9wB4
— Babak Taghvaee (@BabakTaghvaee) August 13, 2018
Gökhan Taşkın from Turkey’s Flash TV is taking it well. Here he is throwing dollar bills at a dancing man in a Trump mask:
This is how a #Turkish TV chanel protested #Trump's decision to block the delivery of F-35 to #Turkey yesterday with traditional #Turkish music. pic.twitter.com/PoGo5v9FhF
— EHA News (@eha_news) August 14, 2018
They’re also angry at the growing economic consequences of the spat and the falling lira:
Turkish TV anchor throwing dollar bills at a dancing “Trump”. That’ll help the lira rebound for sure. ?? https://t.co/DmwFgibC4V
— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) August 14, 2018
We expect there will be more of these segments if the currency keeps cratering:
Latest situation of #Turkish #Lira against the #US dollar.#Turkish #Lira has gained nearly %9 value today. pic.twitter.com/K9Nfj6MGlF
— EHA News (@eha_news) August 14, 2018
U.S. tariffs are just the latest setback for an economy running on borrowed cash. Why Turkey’s $900-billion economy is tanking: https://t.co/cD51zcodjp
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) August 14, 2018
Tourists, however, are enjoying the bargains!
Tourists in Istanbul, taking advantage of the lira’s collapse. pic.twitter.com/ukJcYHWIjV
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) August 14, 2018
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Related:
It's come to this: Sweden finally admits country's signature dish culturally appropriated from Turkey https://t.co/n3GquuXkD8
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) May 3, 2018
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