Donald Trump to Bob Woodward “I Get Along Very Well with Erdogan”

‘The Tougher’ They Are, ‘The Better I Get Along With Them’

NEW YORK — Appearing on the Today show Monday, Bob Woodward shared new audio from a Jan. 22 conversation he had with President Donald Trump in which the president boasted about his relationship with Turkey’s autocratic leader Recip Tayyip Erdogan.

“I get along very well with Erdogan,” Trump told Woodward. “Even though you’re not supposed to, because everyone says ‘What a horrible guy.’ But for me it works out good. I can tell you that the relationships I have, the tougher and meaner they are, the better I get along with them. You’ll explain that to me some day, OK? But maybe it’s not a bad thing. The easy ones are the ones I maybe don’t like as much, or don’t get along with as much.”

Woodward noted the shocking nature of Trump admitting to aligning himself with leaders such as Turkey’s president, while simultaneously having tense relationships with longtime allies.

“He is the face of the United States to the world,” Woodward said. “And he has said — and there it is — ‘Hey, look. I get along with these bad guys, but not the good guys.’”