Taking stock of a Turkey and the Turkish president making comments today saying that it doesn't really care what credit rating agencies due to the rating of his country. Here to tell us more, and also joining me in studio is Matt Miller, my co host for the next hour. So Matt, great to have you here. Um. John, Yes, and I'm glad you came in because John Micklethwaite is here. He is Bloomberg News editor in chief. And John, thank you.
I know you've had a long week as many people have traveled almost as much as Matt Miller, almost as much as I was gonna say, not as fast on on two wheels. Um, tell us about your interview with the President of Turkey. First of all, what had you met him previously? I'd met him once for about five minutes at a conference. Um. He very relaxed. Um, as you're pointing out, just what weekend want to see. It made this habit of interviewing what might be described as
democratic strongman in sense of hum. Seeing Trump briefly the other day and now and now I'm Dan. I think Dan. The interesting things about him is, you know, he has ruled Turkey for a long time. He had in political terms, especially given that democratic strongman background. He had a near death experience in the summer with the coup, but he does have real issues to do with the economy. And you pointed out, Um, you know he's said to the
credit rating agencies. Look, I really don't care what you say. You know, we say it doesn't doesn't tend to be always a good idea. Well, we say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Is it definitely the case with er do Wan. I mean, did that coup you say it's a near death experience, but make him a stronger leader. Um, it's made him a stronger leader to the extent that he's managed to round up about a hundred thousand people um and either get rid of push him out of
jobs or put some in jail. Again. I pushed him on this. He is not entirely good when it comes to journalists. In particular, Turkey jails more journalists than anywhere else around the country, around the world, and he is that. That's to that extent, I think Dawin, yes, he is back in control. But in my experience, when you have that sort of leader, if there is a sort of coup attempt, that tends to make them more worried. And it's interesting that one of his one of his responses
has been to try and get more power. I was going to say he hadn't got for Toolagulan. No, who's sitting as I pointed out to him, and sitting in Pennsylvania in a place where if he flew down to Washington and he'd probably fly over the top, and he's hoping very much that they will manage to extradite him. I don't think anyone in America thinks that is likely. The Turkish case is the Turkish case which we should treat seriously, is that they often give terrorists to America.
They see Gulan as being part of a similar level, and they are demanding his extradition. The Americans are saying that has to go through the courts. They're saying, no, this is to do with a crime that happened in Turkey, Hi the coupe, and they are trying to push it. Nobody, as far as I can work out, seems I think
it is likely to get through. And so you're going to end up an ever more exasperated who already has issues with America with lots of things including America at the moment, arming Curdist curbs, Kurdish um separatists in various places. I just want to play a clip of the interview and get your reaction. You're gonna all hear this, go ahead and were your strategic partner. We're together in Native give him to us and let us try him. That's
to us needed what they said. The court is going to the I'm sorry, but we can't wait for these kind of decisions from these kinds of courts because this crime wasn't committed in the US. It was committed in Turkey, So let us make the decision as the president of Turkey. Speaking with John Michele Twaite, Bloomberg editor in chief earlier today. So John, when he says that what do you hear or feel? Is the next thing you hear a degree
of anger? I think he didn't answer the question specifically, which I asked next, which what is your plan be? If everyone is correct and you're unlikely to get this guy out, then what are you gonna do next? And he merely he said in the government's always tend to have a something up the sleeve which they can use later. But I suspect the main thing he will do is sulk and be kind of cross about it. And there
is a kind of problem there. And you have to remember that Turkey, notwithstanding some of the things which happened, there is still part of NATO. It is still an ally of America. But at this precise moment, if you look over the past few years, it's been one which has been going in different directions. So what's the problem. Why why don't we give him for Toola goal? And if for Toola goal and is connected to this cool and he's an ally of ours and he gives us
criminals that we demand extradition for. Well that's there are the similarities be to Matt Miller and president and get ever, most can only be a matter of time. Now you put the case much more eloquently than I did. With the response I think of the American side is well, we have to go through due process on this. Where is the evidence that you've said this? You have repeatedly claimed this man is trying to do things. Um, you know, we want to see evidence that he actually is involved.
And the word good is very inting. Gooden is a name they charge around everywhere. I asked him doing also about the Central Bank, where we have the same issue, where at least some people, I think himself is generally avoided saying this directly, but some of the people close to him have complained about the previous management of the central Bank and said it was full of goodness. This time I doant to talk about the need to clean out any goodness who are still there. But that was
another place. It's a very kind of paranoid place when it comes to politics. Perky. Do you feel that when you're when you're in his presence, No, he was strangely relaxed. I wonder he's he's um. There is less sort of
an element of fear around him. He he has one The strange thing about doing, at least in to this extent, is that, yes, there are lots of things which are reprehensible about him, such as being tough on John is such a thing, a lot of the treatment of people who seem to oppose him, claiming that anyone who insults him has to get to jail, all that sort of stuff, and yet he has won elections a series of them. So one of the questions for him is, you know, why on earth do you do this stuff? If you
are actually quite good winning the politics anyway. Thank you very much for being with us. John Michael Thwaite is Bloomberg News editor in chief, speaking about the Turkish president Richard Ard One. I'm PIM Fox, my co host Matt Miller, this is taking Stock, and this is Bloomberg