The White House is denying a claim made by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week about a conversation he recently had with President Trump.
In an interview that aired Tuesday on PBS, Erdogan asserted that in a phone conversation last week, Trump expressed regret over a violent incident that unfolded outside of the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C. on May 16.
But Erdogan’s claims about that interaction “are just not true,” a White House official tells The Daily Caller.
In his interview, Erdogan said that Trump called him last week to express regret over the incident, in which a group of Erdogan’s bodyguards and supporters attacked peaceful protesters outside of the ambassador’s residence. At least nine protesters were injured. Fifteen of Erdogan’s bodyguards have since been indicted and blocked from entering the U.S. Four private supporters of the authoritarian ruler have also been charged in the case. (RELATED: Erdogan’s Bodyguards Beat Up Protesters In Washington, DC)
In his interview with PBS, Erdogan appeared to express a bit of regret himself over the incident.
“I’m very sorry about that,” he began to tell PBS’ Judy Woodruff when asked about the incident. But he quickly shifted to Trump.
“Actually, President Trump called me about a week ago about this issue. He said that he was sorry, and he told me that he was going to follow up on this issue when we come to the United States within the framework of an official visit.”
.@RT_Erdogan tells @JudyWoodruff Trump called him abt incident in DC this summer to say he was sorry + wanted to “follow up on this issue.” pic.twitter.com/CoVXYFamDV
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) September 19, 2017
Erdogan is in New York City this week to attend the United Nations General Assembly.
Erdogan and his administration have railed against the U.S. decision to indict the members of the security detail. They accuse the State Department, Secret Service and Washington, D.C. police of failing to protect the security detail and putting Erdogan in harm’s way of the protesters, who the Turkish government insists are terrorists.
But video of the incident paints a completely different picture. Erdogan’s bodyguards are seen blitzing a group of about 20 protesters. The bodyguards and the private citizens supporting Erdogan were filmed kicking, punching and choking some of the protesters.
As the melee unfolded, Erdogan watched calmly from near the entrance of the residence. Video footage also suggests that he may have ordered his personal bodyguard to launch the assault.
Erdogan’s claims to Woodruff are similar to what he said back home in Turkey last week after the call with Trump.
“I am very saddened by this,” Erdogan says Trump told him of a slew of indictments against Erdogan’s bodyguards involved in the May 16 attacks. Trump was also regretful over recent indictments of a former Turkish economic affairs minister in a money laundering case here in the U.S.
The White House official who spoke to TheDC said that while the incident was discussed along with a wide range of topics in last week’s call, there was no apology from Trump.
Trump has not commented directly on the May 16 attack. He is set to meet with Erdogan on Thursday.