The "promise to interfere in Turkey's elections" by the Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, who is preparing to challenge Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential elections in November, has come as a bombshell.
First, let us remember Biden's scandalous statements in an interview with The Weekly program of The New York Times.
"What I think we should be doing is taking a very different approach to him (President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan) now, making it clear that we support opposition leadership ... I’m still of the view that if we were to engage more directly like I was doing with them (the opposition), that we can support those elements of the Turkish leadership that still exist and get more from them and embolden them to be able to take on and defeat Erdogan. Not by a coup, not by a coup, but by the electoral process," he said.
It is scandalous that the opposition candidate, who argues that Russia intervened in the 2016 U.S. elections, talked about his plans of intervening in another country in a televised interview. What is worse is that Biden also made clear what happened in the past regarding U.S. relationship with Turkey's elections and the opposition. In his interview, Biden says without hesitation that the U.S. should resort to a coup as an alternative this time.
Biden's confessions, of course, sparked outrage in Turkey, which suffered a coup attempt just four years ago, resulting in the death of 250 people. There is already a very strong perception among the Turkish public that the U.S. played a part in the July 15, 2016 coup attempt as in the military coups of May 27, 1960, March 12, 1971, and Sept. 12, 1980. Some inexplainable details such as the fact that the perpetrators of July 15, particularly Fetullah Gülen, have not yet been extradited to Turkey for trial, reinforce this perception.
Biden's remarks have further aggravated the anti-American mood many Turks feel and made them clump together better. It has boosted the belief in the rhetoric that the legitimately elected government in Turkey can only be replaced through ballot boxes.
The reaction of opposition parties in Turkey against Biden's comments and the U.S. despite knowing that it would boost the popularity of Erdoğan is proof of that.
Yes, what has happened so far is of concern to Turkey, however, it is the U.S. voter who should be worried. In this process, when new polls, balances and competitive conditions are felt along with the coronavirus pandemic, an aging man who is sticking to archaic policies provides no new alternative to U.S. voters. On top of that, he offers foreign interventionism as a policy, which is the source of the economic and social problems of the U.S. today.
None of us can deny the connection between the institutionalization of racism and police state that made itself clear in the George Floyd protests and the coup mechanism that the U.S. pursues in third world countries.
As European Union member states, as well as the U.K., Russia and China, compete to win an ally like Turkey in Asia Minor and the Mediterranean, what chance can the U.S. have under the leadership of Biden?
Are you one of those who find solace in "If Biden wins, Kamala Harris will be behind the scenes?"
I am sorry, but playing the card of introducing a black woman as his vice presidential nominee a few months before the election will only push the Republican voters to Trump.
Can you imagine what the country would lose if Biden, who has already made all his rivals win, took the lead in the U.S.?
