What if Trump also wants 'Constantinople'!..

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has been arrested and sent to Silivri.

The pro-government media, meanwhile, continues to execute İmamoğlu in the court of public opinion even though there is no indictment yet.

Among the executioners, Yeni Şafak's İbrahim Karagül, in his article yesterday titled, “Ill-mannered, ignorant, arrogant, greedy... Ekrem’s criminal empire has collapsed. But the CHP has become an internal threat. It has become an ‘internal operations headquarters.’ There is no US or European support. They will be toppled one by one... This is the reason for the panic in the CHP,” while listing İmamoğlu’s “crimes” one by one, also noted the following under the sub-heading, “The day he went to Fatih’s tomb... He came to settle the score of 1453”:

“A subcontractor personality who goes to Fatih’s tomb as if to settle a score with his hands in his pockets, as if to kick his mausoleum, as if to settle the score of 1453, was clear evidence of what kind of Turkey is being targeted.”

Was İmamoğlu Going to Make Istanbul “Constantinople”?

Let’s return to 2019, when İmamoğlu was elected twice.

Around that time, Yair Netanyahu, the son of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, targeted Turkey through Erdoğan, posting, “I remind him that the name of Istanbul is Constantinople and that it was the capital of the Byzantine Empire and the Orthodox for a thousand years before the Turkish occupation.”

Meanwhile, it turned out that the perpetrator who attacked mosques in New Zealand also called Istanbul “Constantinople.”

Erdoğan reacted to these delusions as follows:

“This immoral person calls Istanbul ‘Constantinople.’ This nation, as long as this soul is in this body, will never allow such a thing. There is a robber at the head of Israel, the one who is on trial... His son is also tweeting. He says Istanbul is the capital of Byzantium, a Christian city... Netanyahu, who uses the term ‘Constantinople’ for Istanbul, the apple of the world’s eye, pull your son’s ear. If you go any further on this point, our methods of discipline are different. We know how to discipline you in that way too. From now on, this place is Istanbul.”

As the March 31 election was canceled and the country headed to a second election, the debates over the name of Istanbul began again with the claims that İmamoğlu was “Pontic.”

Erdoğan’s message on the anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul that year was remarkable; he said:

“This is Istanbul, or by another name, Islambol. This is not Constantinople, but there are those who want to see it this way. We have 22 days against those who want to see it this way.”

Immoralities in the US

In May 2019, when the entire country was locked on the Istanbul elections, something else happened:

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, which is a Turkish institution according to the Treaty of Lausanne and is allowed to remain here only on the condition that it deals with the religious affairs of our Greek citizens in Istanbul, Bozcaada, and Gökçeada, appointed Elpidophoros, a Turkish citizen born in Bakırköy who did his military service in İskenderun and is the so-called “Metropolitan of Bursa,” as the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America under the title of “Assembly of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople - Holy Synod.”

We have written at every opportunity about what this Turkish citizen has done against Turkey since the day he went to the US. To summarize;

He claimed at every opportunity that Turkey is an occupier in Cyprus...

He considered May 19 as a “day of remembrance for the Pontic genocide”...

When Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque during Trump’s first presidential term, he called on all Orthodox to take action against Turkey and declared a “national day of mourning.” He also met with Trump and conveyed his concerns regarding “the seizure of Hagia Sophia by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Greek Orthodox community and its conversion into a mosque,” and asked them to take action. Trump also stated that he would “continue to take the necessary interventions immediately”...

Anything else?

You remember; in May 2022, when Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis went to the US and complained about Turkey, Erdoğan had said, “For me, there is no one named Mitsotakis anymore.”

At that time, this Archbishop Elpidophoros attended the reception hosted by President Biden at the White House in honor of Mitsotakis and gave a speech. In his speech, referring first to the Greeks’ rebellion against the Ottoman Empire, he said:

“Here, at the White House, we are celebrating the resurrection of the Greek nation with its Prime Minister for the first time. This special commemoration of the two-hundredth (plus one) anniversary of the Greek revolution, within the hundredth year of the American Greek Orthodox Archdiocese being the leading Archdiocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, is an unforgettable honor for the Greek-American Community.”

He then thanked the two leaders for their “strong support for justice and especially for the freedom of the spiritual mission of the Ecumenical Patriarchate”... In his post on his X account regarding the reception, he used the expression “Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.”

Let us also remind you of last year’s March 25 Greek Independence Day.

While Erdoğan was saying at his election rally in Tokat, “Tokat is always different... Tokat did not give a chance to the Pontic gangs, one of the biggest terrorist organizations of the period, during the War of Independence,” Archbishop Elpidophoros, who was hosted at the reception at the White House, was expressing his gratitude to the Biden administration for their “unwavering support for the mother church, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Greece, and Cyprus,” conveying the official invitation he made to the then-Vice President Kamala Harris to visit the “Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew,” and chanting the slogan, “Long live America, long live the Greek people!”

What about the attitude of the “local and national” government, which accuses every opponent within the country of conducting “fifth column activities”?

Not a single reaction was shown to any of these “actions” of Elpidophoros. Not only was it not considered to open a case against him and put him in prison, or to strip him of his citizenship, but he was also allowed to come to Turkey freely at every opportunity.

What He Said to Trump, Whom He Likened to a Roman Emperor

Let’s come to the latest scandal. Yesterday was the 204th anniversary of Greece’s independence.

The day before, US President Trump declared March 25 as “Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy,” calling on the public to celebrate this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities; while emphasizing that “Greek revolutionaries started a war of independence against the Ottoman Empire in 1821 with the slogan ‘Freedom or death’” and that they “honor this heroic struggle for freedom,” he noted in summary:

“America is inextricably linked to both ancient and modern Greece... Greece is one of our nation’s oldest friends, strategic partners, and a valued NATO ally... We appreciate Prime Minister Mitsotakis’s support for our economic and diplomatic partnership.”

Of course, a reception was held at the White House this year as well. The guest of honor, Archbishop Elpidophoros, gave another speech. Let’s skip his praises for President Trump and American-Greek relations and convey his delusions about our country.

He said, “As sons and daughters of the Mother Church of Constantinople, whose longest-serving leader in history is Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, we thank you for your unwavering support for the spiritual mission of our Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul.”...

He conveyed his gratitude to Trump for his “support for Greece and the cause of justice in Cyprus”...

It didn’t stop there; he presented a “holy cross” to Trump with the words, “You remind me of the great Roman Emperor Constantine, who founded and built the magnificent city of Constantinople, which is known as Istanbul today,” and said:

“This cross is the very symbol that led the great Roman Emperor Constantine to victory, because Jesus showed him this sign in a dream and said: ‘Go with this and win victory.’ This cross is a symbol of eternal peace and an invincible reward, a sign of divine power and guidance. I pray that with this cross you bring peace to the world and make America invincible... Long live America! Long live the Greek people!”

Let us also note that Dr. Limberakis, the commander of a type of “state/government” model organization called “Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,” which is directly affiliated with the Fener Greek Patriarchate and aims to realize Greece’s “Megali Idea,” and other officials attended this ceremony at the White House.

“Extraordinary Things”

What has Trump done since the day he arrived?

He announced that he thought “it would be much better if Canada became the 51st state”...

He said that the US should buy Greenland to increase its “economic security”...

He said, “We are taking back the Panama Canal”...

And he changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America”...

Let’s look at his attitude towards Turkey, which greatly pleases the government and its media.

It was announced that in his phone call with Erdoğan, he said, “We trust you in the region,” and “We will work with you in our regional policies.”

As we stated the day before yesterday, and as the valuable writer of Yeniçağ Newspaper, Arslan Bulut, also drew attention to yesterday; while Ekrem İmamoğlu was in custody, Trump’s Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff explained that the two leaders had a “magnificent and transformational” conversation, and that they expected the Ankara Ambassador candidate Tom Barrack to do an “extraordinary job,” and provided the information, “I think good things are coming. Right now, as a result of that meeting, there is a lot of positive news coming from Turkey. I think you will see this in the news in the coming days.”

In short; with the encouragement given by Archbishop Elpidophoros, will Trump give the order, “Make the name of Istanbul Constantinople,” or even say, “I have made the name of Istanbul Constantinople” before long? He might!...

Müyesser YILDIZ

March 26, 2025