U.S. President Donald Trump speaks while aboard Air Force One for a trip to Michigan on July 27, 2026 in flight. (Getty Images via AFP)
U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to a potential sale of F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye, saying Washington would make its own decisions on arms sales.
“Nobody tells me what we should be selling,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on July 27. “Turkey has been a tremendous ally for me.”
Trump described President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a friend and praised his role in regional developments, including Syria. He also called Türkiye a “very powerful country” with a “tremendous military.”
Acknowledging tensions between Türkiye and Israel, Trump said Washington continued to work closely with Ankara.
Netanyahu earlier this month publicly opposed the potential sale of F-35s and fighter jet engines to Türkiye.
During the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7, Trump said he would “certainly consider” allowing Türkiye to return to the F-35 program, describing the country as “much more loyal than other countries.”
Erdoğan later said the U.S. president had taken a positive approach to delivering the jets.
Washington removed Türkiye from the F-35 program in 2019 after Ankara acquired Russia’s S-400 air defense system, arguing that it could compromise the security of the aircraft.
Any sale would still have to clear legal and congressional hurdles linked to the S-400 dispute. The U.S. State Department told Congress last week that Türkiye had not yet met the conditions for a transfer.
Ankara says the S-400 and F-35 systems can operate separately and has proposed a joint technical commission to examine the issue.
It also maintains that its removal from the program was unjustified and that Türkiye’s acquisition of the jets would strengthen NATO.
