The Turkish president was welcomed with open arms at the White House. This is the same president who invaded Syria, jails journalists, quashes opposition and has long been known for a string of human rights abuses. But there he was, standing next to Donald Trump who said of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, ”I’m a big fan of the president.” Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) remarked that Trump is “welcoming a known authoritarian, human rights abuser and friend to Putin whose behavior increasingly runs counter to the interests of the United States and our allies.” But as the day unfolded, Trump fawned over the controversial. During a joint news conference Trump remarked:

“I’m a big fan of the president, to tell you that, and I know that the ceasefire, while complicated is moving forward, and moving forward at a very rapid clip.”

And CBS writes:

In an Oval Office meeting before their news conference, Mr. Trump thanked Erdogan, and emphasized that the U.S. wants to shift its focus to its own borders, not others’ borders. 

“I want to thank the president for the job they’ve done, again, this has been thousands of years in the process between borders, between these countries and other countries that we’re involved with 7,000 miles away,” Mr. Trump said of Erdogan. “So, we want to worry about our things.”

Mr. Trump added he and Erdogan have been “very good friends,” almost from “day one.”

One of the many bizarre moments of the news conference came as Trump called for “only friendly reporters.”