
Of all the things Trump could apologize for, this is the least appropriate.

Reccep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of Turkey, is not anybody's idea of a democratic leader.

He has arrested thousands of people for making fun of him, including journalists and children. He held a referendum to tear up the Turkish constitutional system and suspend the executive power of the parliament, while building a 1,000-room palace for himself.

And during a state visit to America, Erdoğan stood by approvingly as his security guards savagely beat protestors in Washington, D.C. The incident, which resulted in the indictment of several Turkish guards by U.S. prosecutors, was an international embarrassment.


Amazingly, however, Donald Trump felt that he was the one who needed to apologize.

Trump — who has praised Erdoğan for being tough on terrorists and congratulated him on his "referendum" victory — reportedly called the Turkish dictator to say he was sorry for the incident, despite the fact that it was Erdoğan's bodyguards who perpetrated the violence:

.@RT_Erdogan tells @JudyWoodruff Trump called him abt incident in DC this summer to say he was sorry + wanted to "follow up on this issue." pic.twitter.com/CoVXYFamDV — PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) September 19, 2017

The fact that Trump would apologize for this is nothing short of amazing. Especially considering Trump has never apologized for saying Mexicans are rapists, smearing a Gold Star family, calling for Hillary Clinton to be shot, or leaking classified Israeli intelligence secrets to Russian officials.

Trump has even said that, despite being a Christian, he has never asked God for forgiveness. So what is he doing asking forgiveness from a Turkish strongman who had American citizens beaten up?

Moreover, it is amazing that conservatives who trashed President Barack Obama for bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia would have no problem with this.

Since his campaign for president began, Trump liked to boast that he would put America first. But whatever his relationship with Erdoğan is, it is not prioritizing America.