US President Donald Trump said Thursday that his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan “knows about rigged elections better than anybody,” as he drew common ground with the leader often accused of autocratic behavior.

Trump, who falsely claims election fraud thwarted his 2020 presidential bid, said he and Erdogan stayed friends while he was out of office — a period the American called “exile.”

And Erdogan, in power since 2014, earned Trump’s praise Thursday despite a crackdown in Turkey on the opposition and the media.

“This is a guy who’s highly opinionated. Usually, I don’t like opinionated people, but I always like this one, but he’s a tough one,” Trump said as he hosted Erdogan in Washington.

It was Erdogan’s first bilateral visit to the White House since 2019 during Trump’s fir

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