Why does Trump want to sell F-35s to Turkey?

Why does Trump want to sell F-35s to Turkey?

For reasons seemingly known only to himself the president wants to sell Turkey (Turkiye) F-35s. Turkey has been denied the jet due to its purchase of Russian S-400 air defenses for fear that the jets’ radar signature would be compromised. Accordingly, it was sanctioned but Trump now says “we’re going to be taking the sanctions off.” Of course he means that he is going to be taking the sanctions off. U.S. law explicitly prohibits Turkey’s acquisition of the F-35 until it “no longer possesses” the Russian air defenses. Turkey’s president Erdogan is now requesting Russian permission to resell the S-400s to a Gulf monarchy. However, is there any assurance that Turkey would not reacquire the systems once it has the F-35s? Do we really trust Erdogan?

Trump cannot do this unilaterally. It would take an act of Congress and I don’t think it has any appetite whatsoever to okay such a sell. The Wall Street Journal points out that Trump has bypassed the Congress before when it circumvented a waiver process to lift Iran sanctions and said the memorandum of understanding with Iran didn’t need Congress’s approval despite the language of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act. It could try a similar maneuver with the F-35. I would be shocked if the republicans and surely not the democrats would let him get away with it this time.

Erdogan hates Israel and remains a patron of Hamas and Hezbollah and is moving arms into the new Syria. His aggressive rhetoric is matched by his military deployments across the region. Interestingly, the coverage of all of this in the American media largely ignores Erdogan’s animus toward Israel although the Journal does mention it briefly when it says “Mr. Trump keeps giving the Turkish strongman credit for not entering the Iran war to attack Israel, even though Mr. Trump says Mr. Erdogan wanted to. Shouldn’t this be disqualifying?

The lack of mention of the friction between Turkey and Israel is front and center in the Israeli press and Al Jazeera. The headline from the Jerusalem Post reads “Netanyahu warns US should not sell F-35s to Turkish regime ‘infected by Muslim Brotherhood.’” Netanyahu says ““Turkey is a great country, but it’s governed by a man who calls openly for the annihilation of Israel.” “He occupies half of Cyprus, a NATO country. He’s threatening Greece, another NATO country, and he talks openly about conquering Jerusalem.” https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-901613

Al Jazeera looks at this differently and asks “Is Turkiye Israel’s next target in the Middle East?” https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/9/21/is-turkiye-israel-next-target-middle-east

The article continues: “On social media, Israeli academic and political figure Meir Masri posted, “Today Qatar, tomorrow Turkey.” Ankara responded sharply. In unusually harsh language, a senior adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote: “To the dog of Zionist Israel … soon the world will find peace with your erasure from the map.” “For months, pro-Israel media outlets have steadily escalated their rhetoric against Turkiye, portraying it as “Israel’s most dangerous enemy”.

Oops! The Nordic Monitor states that there is “growing evidence suggests that the Erdogan government may be steering Turkey toward a potential military confrontation with Israel, possibly in the Syrian theatre. This concern is reinforced by increasingly belligerent rhetoric from senior officials and a notable shift in Turkey’s strategic doctrine, in which the Jewish state is now framed as a fundamental national security threat.” https://nordicmonitor.com/2026/04/turkey-has-quietly-preparing-a-war-with-israel-primary-target/

The fact that Turkey is a member of NATO makes this hostility particular dicey for the US. NATO’s famous Article 5 says that all members of the alliance, including the US, would be obligated to come to Turkey’s aid if Israel attacked making such an attack highly unlikely. But what would the US do if Turkey attacked Israel? I am no expert but it seems that if there were to be a confrontation it would be over Syria and the continued support of Hamas and Hezbollah by Turkey.

Again, why the American media is ignoring this in its coverage of Trump’s trying to sell F-35s to Turkey escapes me completely.