Is this the first bill for 'legitimacy' from Trump?!

During Trump's first presidential term, the US, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued a declaration envisioning the full normalization of Israel-UAE relations, and a few months later, the UAE signed the Abraham Accords.

When the normalization declaration was issued, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the UAE of “betrayal of the Palestinian cause” and “hypocrisy,” emphasizing that “neither history nor the conscience of the region's peoples will forget or ever forgive this.”

In September 2020, when the UAE, along with Bahrain, signed the Abraham Accords in the presence of Trump, Erdoğan stated that he had instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, saying, “We may take steps such as suspending diplomatic relations with the UAE or recalling our ambassador,” and added, “Because we stand with the Palestinian people. We have never let Palestine be sold out, and we will not let it be sold out.”

The then-Presidential Spokesperson, now head of the MIT, İbrahim Kalın, also noted that “history will record the frustration of those who betray the Palestinian people and their cause.”

However, when Kazakhstan, one of the most important countries of the Turkic world, joined the Abraham Accords last November, not a single sound came from Ankara. On the contrary, Erdoğan declared the Kazakh leader Tokayev a “precious brother”!..

The Colonial Governor Paved the Way

We are all witnesses to Erdoğan's “affection” for Trump in his second term, despite the insults and threats Trump hurled at him during his first term, such as “Don't play the tough guy, don't be a fool,” accompanied by the blackmail of “I tried very hard to solve some of your problems,” and threats like “If things don't go well, they will always see you as a devil forever” and “We don't want to be responsible for ruining the Turkish economy.”

He cannot get enough of praising him; but at the same time, he does not neglect to make warnings and impositions such as, “He needs some things, we need some things, and we will reach a conclusion,” and “If I ask, he will do it.”

At the White House meeting on September 25, his answer to the question of “whether Erdoğan has a trump card regarding Gaza” was very interesting; he said, “I don't know that, but I don't think we will need it.”

It is also clear how, since the arrival of colonial governor Tom Barrack—whom Trump expected to do an “extraordinary job” even when he was a candidate for Ambassador to Ankara—our “indigenous and national government” has been diving headlong into all our red lines accompanied by a deep silence.

For example, last December, he not only said that the ongoing harsh rhetoric between Turkey and Israel could not determine the future of relations and that he trusted that the two countries would fix their relations at some point, but he also interpreted the statements of Erdoğan and Netanyahu as “just rhetoric.”

At the Antalya Diplomacy Forum last month, while making similar assessments, he said, “Israel should align with Turkey just as it has with Abu Dhabi (UAE). Saudi Arabia could also be on the same line as Israel. This is the right path for the prosperity of the Israeli people.”

It turns out he was paving the way for the Abraham Accords!..

Trump Said “Surrender to Israel”

Ultimately, Trump pressed the button in the last few days.

First, let us recall the Erdoğan-Trump meeting three days before the detention of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu last year.

While it was reported that Erdoğan said he might visit the US in April after the holiday regarding the meeting, and that Trump might pay a return visit without much delay, Trump's Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced that the two leaders had a “magnificent” and “transformational” conversation, saying, “I think good things are coming. There is a lot of positive news coming from Turkey right now as a result of that meeting. I think you will see this in the news in the coming days.”

What a coincidence that Erdoğan and Trump also spoke the night before the “absolute nullity” missile guided toward the CHP was fired.

You know what happened after the meeting; Trump claimed that Erdoğan had said about him, “President Trump is the leader the world has been waiting for for centuries. He doesn't just talk about power, he is power itself.”

How similar it was to the praises of Kazakh leader Tokayev, whom Trump cornered in November especially regarding critical minerals and the Abraham Accords, saying, “You are a great leader, you are a statesman sent from heaven to restore the common sense and traditions that we all share and value,” and Uzbek leader Mirziyoyev, saying, “No US president has treated Central Asia like you. In Uzbekistan, we call you the ‘president of peace.’”

But either he had a “hallucination” about Erdoğan, or the warning from those in Ankara that “These expressions do not belong to Erdoğan” must have been effective, because he immediately removed that post.

Following that, he shared a map with “United States of the Middle East” written on it, covering regions from Turkey, Iran, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.

We understood what this map meant from Trump's post the other day.

It turns out that while he was meeting with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain on Saturday about efforts to end the war with Iran, he asked the countries other than the UAE and Bahrain, which are “already members,” to sign the Abraham Accords.

Asking is an understatement; he called it “mandatory” and threatened, “If they don't do this, they should not be part of this agreement; because this is a sign of bad faith,” and said that “the Abraham Accords will bring real peace to the Middle East for the first time in the last 5,000 years.”

So what was the reaction of these countries to this “immoral offer”?

According to two US officials, the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan were surprised, and when there was a short silence, Trump joked, “Are you there?”

What followed?

A Saudi source announced that Riyadh's stance on the Palestinian cause has not changed... Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif also announced that his country would not join the Abraham Accords.

What about Turkey?

48 hours have passed, not a single word has been heard from Erdoğan, the AKP, or the MHP.

But in their Eid al-Adha messages, they continued to shed tears for Gaza and complain about Israel's aggression.

On the agenda of the AKP members, there were only the slogans chanted by CHP members after the “absolute nullity” decision and criticisms directed at Erdoğan; they warned, “Our President is our red line.”

What about Palestine, what about the Abraham Accords; weren't these also “red lines”?!

Yes, the operation against the CHP is a murder of law and democracy; it is essential to talk, discuss, and make it the main agenda item. However, let us not allow these missiles, which were thrown at Turkey as if they were timed, to be overlooked.

NOTE: It is so hard to say “Happy Eid” in a place where even the holiday is poisoned!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

May 27, 2026