On July 7, 2026, President Trump arrived in Ankara, Turkey and was greeted by President Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey with an arrival ceremony on the tarmac.
From the airport, President Trump's vehicle was escorted by the Turkey Honor Guard (on horseback) to begin the state Arrival Ceremony and Honor Guard Review.
Then, President Trump Participated in a Bilateral Meeting with President Tayyip Erdoğan of the Republic of Turkey. Here is a transcript of the public part of the meeting:
President Erdoğan began by stating:
First here on the occasion of the NATO summit, I would like to welcome my valuable friend Mr. President Trump who has participated here today with us and added strength to the summit that we are convening for. And I would like to express how important this summit is that we are here gathering for. The fact that we are convening here today for the NATO Ankara Summit and that all the leaders are arriving and have arrived and we will be executing the NATO summit tomorrow with President Trump which will be adding might and strength to our summit. Once again, I would like to say welcome, Mr. President.
President Trump:
Well, I want to thank you very much. As everybody knows, it's been very much reported, we are great friends. The President has done an incredible job just landing at the airport to see such a beautiful airport and to have a building named after me. I was very happy about that. That was very nice. The airport is absolutely beautiful. The roads coming in were brand new and beautiful. And you've been a great leader and a respected leader all over the world. And we really do we have a we've had right from the beginning good chemistry. We've had a very special relationship. Turkey has become, under the President, a very powerful country militarily. People don't know how powerful actually, they have a lot of our equipment and they have a lot of great soldiers and they're really somebody to be reckoned with; and the nice part is that because of the relationship that we have it's all gone very well. I just want to say that I have a lot of respect for the president and I think it's really to the benefit of both countries. We're going to be talking today about trade. We're going to be talking about other things having to do with the military, lots of different things. Probably we'll mention Iran where we have essentially decimated their military. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. And we have some very good discussions, but we do a lot of trade with Turkey. We make great things and they make great things and we we've had a very it's had a very big impact on both of our countries. So, I just want to tell you that it's an honor to be with you and we're going to have a lot of good meetings, going to have good dinners, good food, we're going to have a good time, but mostly we're going to have a lot of work and we're going to do good things for our countries. Thank you very much, Mr. President.
President Erdoğan:
Thank you.
Reporter asks:
Mr. President, are you going to sell F-35s to Turkey? And what about the legal restrictions?
President Trump:
It's a decision we're going to make. We have a very good relationship. I would think that many people, I can tell you, many people including the people sitting right here thinks 'why wouldn't we do that?' We have a better relationship with Turkey and Turkey's been in many ways much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal. So yeah something certainly we would consider. It's a great plane. It's the best currently the best plane by far and certainly something we will consider.
Reporter asks:
Mr. President sir, you said I believe it was last week or two weeks ago that President Erdoğan was a big reason you wanted to come to the summit here. What has made your relationship with him so special in your own words and what do you broadly hope to achieve here at the summit?
President Trump:
You never know why a relationship is special. Some people you get along with and some people you don't. Sometimes you get along with the toughest people like him and sometimes you don't get along with the weakest, most pathetic people. You just don't get along. Maybe you don't respect them, but I, you know, from the day we met, we got along. We had a pastor, so I remember his name was Pastor Brunson, and it was a very big thing. And it was a very traumatic. He was sentenced to a long-term prison sentence and I felt he was innocent and I called, other people ,called they got nowhere. I called the president and he released him immediately. Something that the evangelical community will never forget and he was a good man, Pastor Brunson. So, you know, just things like that we just have always it's always worked out and I think it's been from the very beginning from the first moment this just I said it before it's a it's a it's a chemistry that works between us. There were those that I don't have a good chemistry with. I will tell you that and we work that out too.
Reporter asks:
Are further troop draw downs in Europe likely and are you satisfied with the progress that NATO allies have made?
President Trump:
Well, we're going to see. I was very disappointed with NATO and frankly if it weren't held in Turkey where my friend happens to be a very strong leader, a very strong person. I think it's possible that I wouldn't have attended. I felt I had to attend because of the fact that you know I know he's gone all out. It was a big thing to have NATO come to Turkey or any place else. It's a big thing. But we weren't treated well because we did something in Iran. We don't need anybody's help. I didn't even want the help. But before I asked, they said they wouldn't be there. And we've invested trillions of dollars in NATO. Why? To protect European countries and others, Canada, etc., But to protect people, countries from, generally speaking, it used to be the Soviet Union, now it's Russia. And I say that's fine, but you would think that they'd be very willing to do something to help us. And they really weren't. In the case of the United Kingdom, the prime minister, I guess he's no longer there, maybe because of this, it was a very unpopular thing he did. He said, "No, we'll help after the war is over. I said, "I don't need that kind of help." We didn't need any help at all. And in a way, I was testing people. I was testing to see whether or not they'd be there because I've long said that we help them, but I'm not sure that they'd be there for us. And Italy turned us down and Germany turned us down and France turned us down. And it's okay, but you know, why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars and they're not there for us? We've always been there for them.
President Erdoğan responds to questions asked in Turkish (no translation provided)
Reporter asks:
Is it going to be handed over to a third party as part of any deal with F-35s?
President Trump:
What does that mean?
Reporter asks:
Are you is it going to be handed over to a third party? Is that not part of the deal?
President Trump:
Third party. What is the third? With respect to what?
Reporter asks:
There's our[Who is "our" the reporter did not identify themself nor did they say what publication they were from nor did they say what country they were representing.] concerns about the Russian missile defense system. Do you have those concerns about the system?
President Trump:
I don't have concerns at all about anything? I mean, he's a leader of a country that he's made a much better country, much more powerful country, and you see it. I mean, it's beautiful. You get off the roads of your country. It's a amazing thing. Now, I have no concerns about anything having to do with Turkey. The relationship, I would say the relationship with Turkey right now is better probably than it's ever been. It was good in my first four years, but I think now it's probably even better than not if that's possible.
Reporter asks:
Sir, US military and Turkish military constitute a really strong and large military base for NATO? Are we expecting further defense cooperation out of this bilateral meeting, out of this NATO summit here in Ankara?
President Trump:
Well, we're going to find out when I go there. We're going to find out. We're going to be having meetings. We're very friendly with many of the leaders. Some of them are new. We don't know them. You know, I've been doing this for sort of a long time. if you count the four years where we had a rigged election, I was very much into politics then too. But I spent the first four years, I spent four years in little different state. And then we had we've had an amazing, probably the best year maybe ever had by an American president. When you look at the economy, we have the greatest economy we've ever had. We have $19 trillion dollars, 19.2 trillion dollars to be exact, being invested in the United States. That's seven or eight times more than it's ever. It's a world record, not just a US record. And I just read where in fact coming over. I was just given, I was in the car with those beautiful horses, those great riders, those great soldiers. And it came over the wires that Toyota is moving out of Mexico into the United States and building one of the biggest truck and car plants ever built. It's amazing. That's what tariffs do properly used. And, so we've never had a more exceptional economy or potential economy. There's never been anything like it. Under the last administration, they did much less than a trillion dollars of investment coming in and we're at 19.2 trillion in, actually the first 12 months, because that's where it's, you know, really so there a year and a half. So that number is now substantially higher. But 19.2 2 trillion, Scott, for a period of 12 months. Nobody's ever seen anything like that. So we have by far the greatest economy. We have more jobs right now in the United States than ever before. And we have a great relationship with some countries on trade and Turkey happens to be one of them.
President Erdoğan responds to questions asked in Turkish (no translation provided)
President Trump:
They had a hard time, that Turkey bought planes. It's the best plane, but they bought planes from the United States. And when you buy a plane from the United States, if there's engine rehab and other things that are done to engines, there's various things that happen, including just maintenance. I think we have an obligation to maintain engines and help them maintain engines. When you buy a plane from us, what are we going to do? Say you're buying a plane if the engine needs work or if the engine has to be rehabilitated or even upgraded somewhat. But I think we have an obligation to do that. What are you going to do? Say I'm not going to do that? Look, Turkey's been, I know you know a lot of people don't agree although I think with time they're starting to agree, Turkey has been a great ally for us. Turkey's been, Turkey could have gone on the side of Iran. They know Iran very well and they know the problems with Iran but they've been very instrumental along with a couple of other countries of helping. They could have gotten into the fight. I hear some people saying about their relationship with Israel, they could have gotten into the fight. They're a very powerful military nation. They didn't do that. Maybe they didn't do that because of me, but they could have gotten into this into the fight on the other side. They are a nation that's been very very good. And I can only, I can speak for myself as president. They've been extraordinary in many ways with respect to our relationship, including trying to end the war with Iran or whatever you call. It's not even a war. It's a military operation. It's a denuclearization. That's really what it is, of Iran; because, I don't think he wants to see them have a nuclear weapon either. I'm pretty sure of that. In fact, I'm totally sure of that. So, but when they buy a product from us, whether it's a plane or anything else, when it's time for maintenance, don't we have an obligation to help them? What are we, you say, we're not going to we're not going to let you use the product that you spent a lot of money in buying? And especially when it's been somebody that frankly has been more helpful to the United States than many other more traditional countries.
Reporter asks:
Sir, you will meet President Zelenskyy tomorrow. Should we expect a breakthrough soon? Where are we at Ukraine?
President Trump:
Thank you. I had a very good talk with President Putin, who by the way has a lot of respect for President Erdoğan. A lot of respect for him. we had a long talk yesterday. It lasted a long time. And I also spoke with President Zelenskyy right after that. I think they both want to make a deal. It's too bad it took so long. But I think there's going to be something's going to come out and the president's also helping us with that. But I think there's something. You know I settled eight wars and I think we're going to be settling; and I it doesn't seem likely now but sometimes when with war I see when it's least likely that's when it happens. I had a very good talk with President Putin. I had a very good talk with, I would say as a combination, a lot of times I do well with Putin and Zelenskyy would be a problem or vice versa. Zelenskyy would be great and Putin would be they both want to get it settled now more than that's all I do in my life is deals, I know deals and I think they are going to I think we're going to get it settled hopefully soon. Last month 35,000 most of the soldiers died. The month before that it was 24,000 and the month before that it was 27,000 and the month before that it was 29,000. But last month it was 35,000 young soldiers, mostly soldiers died. And that's crazy.
Reporter asks a question about sanctions in Turkish (no translation available)
President Trump:
I can tell you we're going to be taking the sanctions off [Turkey]. Okay. I don't want him to waste his time answering that question because we're working very closely with Marco Rubio, very famous man, great Secretary of State, and with Scott Bessent [Secretary of the Treasury] and with Pete [Hegseth, Department of War] and everybody else. We're going to be taking the sanctions off. It's time to do that. Okay, we don't want to sanction friends. It's very simple. There's plenty of people we can sanction and we are sanctioned. And because of the president, you know, we have a very good relationship with the new leader of Syria and he's done an amazing job in a year and a half. He's pulled the whole country together and I have a very great relationship with him. And somebody said, "Well, he's pretty rough to put him there." I approved him along with the president. We were the two that really wanted him and he's done a great job. He's done a great job. He's pulled it together. Not an easy job.
Reporter asks:
Can you clarify what you meant with your social media post yesterday with respect to Prime Minister Maloney [Italy]? Uh, that Truth Social post with the restraining order.
President Trump:
Oh, I don't know. I think she's a nice person, actually. We had a bad relationship, but it became a little bad because she refused to help us. Again, I didn't put a heavy press on her, but she refused to get involved with the Hormuz Strait or you could also say just say Iran. But she refused to get involved. So, it soured my relationship with her for a little bit. But I like her. I think she's a nice person actually, but I think she made a mistake. You know, they get a lot of their oil from there. We don't get any oil from Iran. We have a lot of oil. The United States has more oil than anybody. And when you add Venezuela to it, it's like we have far more oil than any we don't need the strait. We do this because we think it's an important thing to do. But, she just wasn't there for us and I wasn't happy about that. You can imagine I wasn't happy about that.
Reporter asks:
Mr. President, you seem to express optimism that a deal between Russia and Ukraine is close. Why do you think that? What conditions have changed? Russian Ukraine. Does Putin seem open to any concessions?
President Trump:
He never changed. I just don't want him killing people. You know, it doesn't affect the United States. When Biden was here, he gave them hundreds of billions of dollars worth of equipment. Now I sell the equipment for, you know, fair price, full price. I sell it not to Ukraine. I sell it to the European Union. They pay us. But with me, it's not anything to do other than I'd like to save lives. You have 25, 35, 30, one time they hit 41,000 a month, souls. They're dead. They leave their mother in Ukraine. They leave their mother and father in Russia, Ukraine. They wave goodbye and a week later they're dead. It's crazy. And I would like to see. It doesn't affect us. It's really, you know, it's far away. It affects Europe much more. We're there to help Europe, but it doesn't affect the United States. We have an ocean in between us. But, you know, it's just I can't stand watching what's happening. I've seen the pictures of those battlefields. And it's a drone war. It's a war of drones. It's a whole new technology. And we're actually the leader in drones now. We have the most sophisticated drones. But people wouldn't believe how violent it is. And I've seen the battlefields. They send me pictures. "I actually want to say, don't send them to me, Pete. This man right here, he sends me pictures." I said, "Pete, you know what? Doesn't help to look. I've never seen anything like it. It's carnage and it should stop."
Reporter asks:
Did he [President Putin] seem open to any? Did he seem open to any concessions to end the [Russia/Ukraine] war? Did open to any concessions to end the war in your call with him?
President Trump:
We get along very well with and we're going to get it settled and President Erdoğan is helping us get it settled as he's helping with Iran.
Reporter asks:
Denmark.
President Trump:
They didn't help, Denmark, but it's an important part for the United States and it's surrounded by China's ships and Russian ships and that's not going to happen, ships, it's not going to happen. It was Greenland and it continues to be that should be controlled by the United States not by Denmark and when they wouldn't go along with it and with all the money we spent to help them with Russia and we don't have to spend any money we could remove all of our soldiers out Europe because as you probably noticed Europe's a very different place than it was 20 years ago. A lot different much different a much different and they better be careful with immigration and energy. If they're not careful with those two things you're not going to have a Europe anymore.
Now when "they" take President Trump's words out of context and mix and match sentences, you will know the truth of what he actually said from this transcript.
On July 7, 2026, the White House published the release Democrats Fought Against Historic Tax Cuts. Now They’re Fighting Against Opportunity for America’s Kids.Representative Bennie G Thompson (D-MS-2), in the X post above, is telling is district to pass on creating a FREE Trump Account for US children born after December 31, 2024 with valid SSNs. The median income of his district is $47,495 and median household income is between $81,604 and $83,730 which is about 57-58% of the national average. Why would this "representative" tell his people to not take advantage of a FREE Trump Account? Even if his people do nothing more than accept the FREE $1,000 start-up from the US Government, their child will receive $5,800 when they turn 18 (based on estimated return on investment).
Democrats would rather keep working families trapped in dependency on the government programs they control than let them own a piece of their future. They’d rather punish their own constituents than see a policy associated with President Trump succeed and improve the lives of Americans. They’re putting their hatred of President Trump above giving American children a real shot at the American Dream.
Both Chambers of Congress are on a pro forma vacation (that's where they meet every few days for 1-3 minutes so President Trump can't make any recess appointments). Congress seems to have been on vacation more than they've been in session since April and this will continue through at least July 13 for both Chambers (unless the House decides to return to work July 9th when they next meet).
18 SCOTUS stays or motions to vacate of lower court orders
2 SCOTUS affirmation of lower court order
11 suits where judges ruled for the federal government
16 suits where judges ruled against the federal government
7 criminal prosecutions by the DOJ
These next 2 lawsuit updates are about the Anti-Weaponization Fund. Although there was a request to combine these two cases, on June 18, 2026,Judge Leonie M BrinkemaORDERED that Stephens' Motions, [Dkt. Nos. 87 & 88], be and are DENIED. Therefore, these 2 suits remain separate suits.
In the lawsuitFloyd v. Department of Justice docket # 1:26-cv-01399 (previously discussed in my May 28, 2026 and June 2, 2026 ANP Articles) filed in District Court, E.D. Virginia on May 22, 2026 about Anti-Weaponization Fund where The nonprofit organization Common Cause, a former federal prosecutor, and the city of New Haven, Connecticut, among others, sued the Trump administration to prevent the dispersal of payments in the so-called Anti-Weaponization Fund.
. . . plaintiffs' Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order, or in the Alternative, a Preliminary Injunction With Expedited Briefing, [Dkt. No. 24], is GRANTED; plaintiffs' Motion for a Stay Under 5 U.S.C. § 705, [Dkt. No. 27], Expedited Motion for Limited Expedited Discovery, [Dkt. No. 70], and Expedited Motion to Amend the Scheduling Order, [Dkt. No. 72], are DENIED as MOOT; and it is hereby
ORDERED that, to avoid any further litigation in this civil action, defendants Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, Jr., and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent FILE a declaration under the penalty of perjury that they will not take any action to create or operate the Anti-Weaponization Fund, and that the Anti-Weaponization Fund will not proceed in any manner, or under any name. If such a declaration is not filed by June 19, 2026, the Court will issue a Scheduling Order and require defendants to file a responsive pleading by July 17, 2026; and it is further
ORDERED that to ensure the status quo, the following preliminary injunction be and is IMMEDIATELY ENTERED, effective today, until further Order from the Court. Specifically, defendants be and are ENJOINED from taking any action to create or operate the Anti-Weaponization Fund, including but not limited to transferring or causing to be transferred any money to the Anti-Weaponization Fund; processing any claim submitted to the Anti-Weaponization Fund; making any payment out of the Anti-Weaponization Fund; appointing any member to manage the Anti-Weaponization Fund; establishing any rules or procedures governing the Anti-Weaponization Fund; destroying any documents relating to the Anti-Weaponization Fund, its creation, its procedures, or claims submitted to the Anti-Weaponization Fund; reconstituting the Anti-Weaponization Fund under a different name; or taking any actions under the purported authority of the Anti-Weaponization Fund; and it is further
ORDERED that if defendants have transferred or caused to be transferred any money to an account for the Anti-Weaponization Fund, they shall immediately reverse that transfer; and it is further
ORDERED that defendants shall submit a status report within seven days of this Order updating the Court on compliance with this Order’s terms, including confirmation that no payments have been made from the Anti-Weaponization Fund, and that no funding has been transferred to an account for the Anti-Weaponization Fund, or if it has, that that transfer has been reversed.
So, according to this judge, the Anti-Weaponization Fund remains unfunded while the lawsuit proceeds.
Based upon the Government's considered representations to this Court, I find the case is likely no longer justiciable. For all the reasons stated above, it is hereby ORDERED that CREW's Motion for a Stay under 5 U.S.C. § 705 and Preliminary Injunction [Dkt. #10] is DENIED.
For the reasons set forth in the accompanying Memorandum Opinion, it is hereby ORDERED that plaintiffs Motion for a Stay under 5 U.S.C. § 705 and Preliminary Injunction [Dkt. #10] is DENIED.
And the lawsuits march on . . .
In any operation
- and under all circumstances
a decisive Naval superiority
is to be considered as a fundamental principle -
and the basis upon which every hope of success
must ultimately depend.
- George Washington to Lafayette, July 15, 1780
On October 13, 1775, the Colonies founded the Continental Navy. While they had already created the Continental Army, they realized they needed a Navy. The British were using their ships to transport goods, weapons, ammunition, and troops much faster than the Colonies could respond by foot or horseback. General George Washington supported the creation of a Continental Navy. John Adams was named Chairman of the Naval Committee serving from 1775-1776.
The first Continental Navy was comprised of 2 armed vessels whose assignment was to capture British supply ships. The Continental Army needed gunpowder, weapons, and other supplies.
On November 5, 1775, Esek Hopkins was selected as the 1st Commander-in-Chief, and the first commissioned officer, of the Continental Navy. He served from 1775-1778. On November 25, 1775, the Congress authorized the Navy to attack any British ship or transport. On November 28, 1775, the Congress set forth the rules and regulations governing the Continental Navy (drafted by John Adams).
On December 3, 1775, the Navy converted a merchant ship into a 24-gun frigate. It was renamed Alfred and was the 1st Ship commissioned in the Continental Navy with Lieutenant John Paul Jones (1747-1792) raising its flag. On December 11, 1775, the Congress authorized the building of 13 frigates to be built at 7 different ports in the Colonies. There were massive delays and cost overruns as they attempted to build a Navy large enough to take on the British Navy and protect the Colonies. To assist in the building of the Navy, privateers captured British merchant ships and retrofitted them for war. A percentage of the sales of the goods captured were given to the privateers who captured the merchant ships.
March 3, 1776, the Continental Navy, with 200 Marines from the newly established Continental Marine Corps, raided New Providence and the Bahamas (known as the raid on Nassau). It was the first successful mission of the Continental Marine Corps. They captured the fort giving the Continental forces much needed ammunition, weapons, and other supplies.
April 7, 1776, a converted 18-gun frigantine Lexington under the command of Captain John Berry (1745-1803) defeated the HMS Edward, capturing the British warship for the Continental Navy.
October 11, 1776, General Benedict Arnold fought at Valcourt Island Lake Champlain (generally considered one of the first Naval battles fought in the Revolutionary War). While the Continental Navy lost that battle, they delayed the British invasion of New York by a year and allowed the Continental Army the time they needed to defeat the British at the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777 (considered a turning point of the Revolutionary War).
June 6, 1778, Congress ratified the Franco-American Alliance bringing the great French Navy into the war.
The Treaty of Paris in 1783 (discussed in my February 7, 2026 ANP Article) ended the Revolutionary War. By 1785, Congress disbanded the Continental Navy and sold the remaining ships.
Those are some of the exact words used by Google’s censors, aka 'Orwellian content police,' in describing many of our controversial stories. Stories later proven to be truthful and light years ahead of the mainstream media. But because we reported those 'inconvenient truths' they're trying to bankrupt ANP.
