But no! The White House verified the letter\u2019s authenticity.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EHBwvqGXUAAVpKg?format=jpg&name=medium\")
Here is the text of Trump\u2019s letter to President Erdogan:<\/p>\n
Dear Mr. President,<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s work out a good deal! You don\u2019t want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don\u2019t want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy\u2014and I will. I\u2019ve already given you a little sample with respect to Pastor Brunson.<\/p>\n
I have worked hard to solve some of your problems. Don\u2019t let the world down. You can make a great deal. General Mazloum is willing to negotiate with you, and he is willing to make concessions that they would never have made in the past. I am confidentially enclosing a copy of his letter to me, just received.<\/p>\n
History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don\u2019t happen. Don\u2019t be a tough guy. Don\u2019t be a fool!<\/p>\n
I will call you later.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
Donald Trump<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Trump\u2019s letter was reportedly was the last straw in Erdogan\u2019s decision to invade Syria. Erdogan reportedly was so enraged by Trump\u2019s letter that he threw it in a trash can. So much for Trump portraying himself as the king of making deals. There are specific norms in politics, and in diplomacy. Trump may think he\u2019s being edgy by rejecting them, but many of those norms exist for very good reasons.<\/p>\n
Brad Simpson, a professor at the University of Connecticut, explained as follows<\/a>\u00a0on twitter:<\/p>\n
I am a historian of US foreign policy. I have read many, many letters from US Presidents to foreign leaders, and I have never read a letter from the US President so unhinged, so threatening, so bizarre, so completely lacking in basic etiquette. Trump is deeply, deeply unwell.<\/p>\n
2\/ For non-historians wondering what makes this letter so unusual, aside from the bonkers prose: Normally a letter from the US president to a foreign leader is drafted by the national security advisor or other high level policymakers, with input from other stakeholders.<\/p>\n
3\/ Even in response to rapidly unfolding events, a Pres letter is written and edited by committee, almost never by the Pres himself, and usually goes through multiple drafts to make sure every word is consistent with existing policy or spells out a considered policy option.<\/p>\n
4\/ A Presidential letter to another head of state is the sum of a policy process, and lots of people will sign off on it, since the US embassy and many others will have to respond to whatever policy issues are raised and any new initiatives that are rolled out.<\/p>\n
5\/ Trump\u2019s letter seems to have been dictated straight by him to a secretary and sent to Erdogan without any input from top NSC, State Dept, or Pentagon\/JCS advisors. It\u2019s hard to overstate how crazy this is, given the stakes involved for US in Turkey\u2019s invasion of Syria.<\/p>\n
6\/ This letter suggests a complete breakdown of the policymaking process and a President who is totally improvising with no input from advisors, since no competent, serious policymaker would ever sign off on such a letter. It just would not happen.<\/p>\n
7\/ Trump\u2019s letter is in line with the decision to withdraw US forces from Northern Syria and green light Turkey\u2019s invasion, also sprung upon his own senior policymakers with no warning, no policy process, no consideration of consequences.<\/p>\n
8\/ Presidents normally see themselves as constrained by their advisers, whose greater expertise and experience they at least have to consider. Trump doesn\u2019t seem to see himself constrained by anyone and seems to feel free to say or do anything, and that should terrify us all. END<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Somewhere on Capitol Hill there\u2019s a closet full of spines. That closet contains the spine of every single Republican lawmaker, with one exception. Justin Amash opted to keep his spine, but to do so, he had to surrender his Republican registration. He wasn\u2019t allowed to keep both that and<\/em> his spine.<\/p>\n
It may sound like I\u2019m being snarky, but I\u2019m really not. You cannot read both Democrats\u2019 and Republicans\u2019 description of their meeting with Trump last night<\/a>, in light of the way he talks on Twitter<\/a>, and not<\/em> conclude that Republicans have surrendered their spines. Is it that<\/em> hard to stand up to Trump?<\/p>\n
Dan Diamond, reporter for Politico, pointed to the front page of the New York Times in a tweet this morning:<\/p>\n
\nThe front page of the NYT website \u2014\u00a0on day 1,000 of the Trump administration \u2014 reads like a parody prediction from 2016 of what Trump\u2019s presidency would look like. pic.twitter.com\/oT3VxVqDXp<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) October 17, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n