Two and a half years later, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded to accusations he had received from US President Joe Biden during the latter's election campaign in late 2020, which ended with him winning the presidency at the expense of his rival, former President Donald Trump.
In an interview with CNN, Erdogan responded to his reminder by denouncing Biden's remarks when he called him a "tyrant" and said, "Can someone who goes to the second round and not the first be a dictator?"
"What kind of dictatorship is this? Where the coalition of the public enters parliament with 322 deputies and the person who heads it comes first and heads to a second round?"
At the same time, Erdogan responded to the question of whether he would work with the Biden administration if he is re-elected. He confirmed that he would work with the Biden administration, or anyone who comes in his place to the White House.
According to the Turkish Anadolu Agency, CNN International is expected to publish the interview conducted by journalist Baki Anderson with President Erdogan in full today.
Erdogan during the interview with CNN journalist Baki Anderson
Turkish Democracy
In the same interview, the Turkish president said that the people would show the strength of Turkish democracy in the second round of the presidential election as well.
Erdogan pointed to the large turnout in the first round of the elections, which approached 90%, considering it very important, and the least similar in the world.
Last Sunday, Turkey witnessed presidential and parliamentary elections, and the candidate of the People's Alliance, President Erdogan, the candidate of the Umma Alliance, the leader of the opposition Republican People's Party, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, and the candidate of the ATA (Ancestors) Alliance, Sinan Ogan, competed in the presidency.
The High Election Board in Turkey officially announced the holding of the second round of the presidential elections on May 28, as no candidate received more than 50% of the votes, as Erdogan came first with 49.51% of the votes, while Kılıçdaroğlu won 44.92%, Sinan Ogan 5.17% and Muharrem Ince (withdrew 3 days before the poll) 0.44%.