What’s on Ankara’s watchlist during Trump’s 2nd term, Turkish columnist explains

Veteran journalist Abdulkadir Selvi of the Turkish daily Hurriyet published an article on Thursday titled “Ankara’s Outlook on the Second Trump Era.”

Selvi wrote, “The polls that put (Donald) Trump and Kamala Harris head-to-head were wrong, and despite all the resistance of the American deep state, Trump won. They tried to assassinate Trump, put him in jail, tried to erase him politically, but he won.”

Commenting that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was one of the first to congratulate President-elect Trump, “There is a direct relationship between President Erdogan and Trump. It is an important advantage that the two leaders, who successfully carry out leader diplomacy, have friendship … Biden was a president, but not a leader.”

List of items Türkiye will monitor during Trump’s second term:

1. Trump’s crisis management: Observing Trump’s decisiveness in handling crises during his second term.
2. Russia-Ukraine peace efforts: Potential for Trump to establish peace in the Russia-Ukraine war within the first three months.
3. Israel’s policy on Gaza and Lebanon: Monitoring Israel’s stance on Gaza and Lebanon under Trump’s administration.
4. Israeli support and occupation concerns: Fears that Trump may offer more support to Israel than Biden, potentially allowing the occupation and annexation of Gaza.
5. Trump’s China strategy: Anticipation of Trump’s main focus being China – but in what form?
6. Iran policy: Expectation of a more aggressive stance from Trump toward Iran.
7. U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and Syria: Will the U.S. withdraw from Syria and Iraq. “He said that 9 trillion dollars were buried in the Middle East. Last term, it was decided to withdraw from Syria, but the American deep state prevented it.”
8. Brett McGurk’s role: Trump’s potential to dismiss Brett McGurk, who was initially fired by Trump and later reappointed by Biden as special envoy for the Middle East. Will Trump remove McGurk, known for his support of the PKK terrorist group and withdraw U.S. support for the PKK?

The escalations by Israel remain a sensitive topic in Türkiye. Selvi underlined that “Trump’s most troubling aspect is his extreme pro-Israel stance. Despite his low-profile pledge to end the Gaza war, (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s enthusiastic support was troubling as soon as it became clear that Trump had won.”

The columnist further claims that Netanyahu had increased the intensity of strikes conducted by Israel after a meeting with Trump at Mar-A-Lago back in late July, leading to allegations as to whether Trump had made a deal with the Israeli leader.