They could not criticise the source of their legitimacy
The timid stance taken by those who seek legitimacy in the United States in response to Trump’s coup in Venezuela came as no surprise. Panicked pro-government voices dressed up the government’s silence as “state responsibility”.
Politics Service
The United States’ attack on Venezuela also functioned as a kind of litmus test in Turkey’s domestic politics. Political Islamist circles, which have maintained ties with US imperialism for more than 70 years, failed to go beyond token reactions, while the silence on the government side stood out. Posts referring to “15 July” about Venezuela by figures such as MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli and Palace chief adviser Mehmet Uçum did not receive support from within the AKP. Hours after the US coup in Venezuela, the first reaction on behalf of Turkey came from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In a statement that did not even mention the US by name, “restraint by the parties” was advised. In AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik’s statements, the words “Maduro”, “attack”, “US” and “abduction” did not appear.
THEY SOUGHT LEGITIMACY
From the Anti-Communist Associations to the Green Belt Project, from the Greater Middle East Project to sectarian policies in the Middle East, it is a well-known fact that imperialist powers have used political Islam in line with their interests. The Ottoman Model mentioned by the US Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, clearly shows the role the US and Trump have assigned to Turkey today. It is clear that a government willing to grant economic privileges to the US just to be photographed with Trump also wants to regain the “legitimacy” it has lost at home by leaning on the US and Trump. Barrack’s words, “we will provide them with the legitimacy they want”, are still fresh. Therefore, Erdoğan’s stance is not surprising, despite having posed with Venezuelan President Maduro until recently.
SPOKE TO BLOOMBERG
While protests against the US and Trump were taking place all over the world, President Tayyip Erdoğan spoke by phone with US President Trump yesterday. It was stated that the topics of the call were the coup in Venezuela, the Ukraine-Russia war, and developments in Gaza.
In a statement to Bloomberg before the call, Erdoğan said, “Turkey receiving the F-35 aircraft it has paid for and being reintegrated into the programme is important and necessary for better relations with the US and for NATO’s defence.” At their meeting in September, Trump had pressured Erdoğan to restrict oil imports from Russia and to purchase inefficient and expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US. Erdoğan said, “We have significantly increased our LNG supply from the US”, and noted that the US now holds an “important position” in Turkey’s supply chain.
PRO-GOVERNMENT COMMENTATORS PANICKED
Meanwhile, Hürriyet columnist Abdulkadir Selvi targeted the criticisms made by CHP leader Özgür Özel regarding President Erdoğan’s “silence” towards Trump in his column yesterday. Selvi argued that Erdoğan was not silent in the face of Trump but was acting out of “state responsibility”. Criticising Özel, Selvi said that the person who should be reacting to Trump’s operation against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was not Erdoğan but Trump himself. Describing Özel’s remarks as “politics of discord”, Selvi characterised Erdoğan as “one of the bravest leaders in the world”.
Türkiye newspaper columnist Cem Küçük also said, “It’s easy to rant from the outside. Running state affairs is not like ranting on social media”, in response to those criticising the government for remaining silent towards the US. Pointing out that the US, “because it is powerful, has carried out similar illegal actions before”, Küçük argued that “the message from the Turkish Foreign Ministry was entirely appropriate”.
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Meşruiyet aldıkları yeri eleştiremediler, published in BirGün newspaper on January 6, 2026.
