Photos have emerged showing Ivanka Trump with President Donald Trump in Istanbul, Turkey, to celebrate the opening of the Trump Towers building in the city. The image emerges as Trump faces scathing criticism from across the political spectrum for abandoning the U.S.’s most reliable allies in the region.
Last week following a phone call with Erdogan, Trump abruptly announced that U.S. troops in the border region would be withdrawn, leaving the Kurds open to attack by Turkish forces and their proxies.
Trump’s sudden abandonment of the U.S.’s most regional reliable allies also raised questions about his potential conflicts of interests in Turkey, specifically Trump Towers in Istanbul.
Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony in April of that year, Ivanka tweeted, “Thank you Prime Minister Erdogan for joining us yesterday to celebrate the launch of #TrumpTowers Istanbul!”
The president has described Trump Towers Istanbul as “a little conflict of interest” in his dealings with Turkey.
Indeed, Erdogan has used the building to apply pressure on the president. Responding to Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban in 2016, for example, Erdogan called for the president’s name to be taken off Trump Towers.
This pressure eased after Trump expressed support for Erdogan’s wide-ranging crackdown against political opponents followed a failed coup in 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Ivanka’s resurfaced Istanbul photographs will exacerbate concerns that the Trump family’s Turkish business interests are influencing White House policy. The president has consistently refused to divest himself from his businesses, in violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clause.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on
The president and his family have consistently used Trump’s position to enrich their personal enterprises. Foreign governments, the secret service and even the U.S. military have all racked up huge bills at the president’s properties since Trump took office.
