Pro-gov’t TV fires reporter who said on hot mic Turkey gained nothing from Erdoğan-Trump talks
A Turkish pro-government broadcaster dismissed its Washington correspondent after a hot mic captured him saying that “Turkey gained nothing” from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s meeting last week with President Donald Trump.
Remarks by Hüseyin Günay, NTV’s Washington correspondent, were captured by an Associated Press camera outside the White House and spread online on Monday.
In the clip NTV correspondent Hüseyin Günay is heard saying that Turkey got nothing.
He links the meeting to an alleged list of US conditions and says F-35s were “talked about but conditional.”
Günay listed the conditions as stopping Russian gas purchases, cutting trade with China and transferring money to Palestinians and claims Turkey cannot accept them.
In the same footage Günay refers to a three-way struggle involving Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Erdoğan’s son Bilal and son-in-law Selçuk Bayraktar, saying that infighting is aimed at controlling a possible post-Erdoğan Turkey.
He uses crude language several times and says, “We paid the money and made a show,” “We came here like escorts” and “We already handed over the keys.”
He says the video package praising the visit was likely financed by the Turkish side and says he plans to ask in the press room who paid for it.
“Turkey is heading to a nonsense place,” he says and questions whether anyone would defend the country in a war, before softening the statement when pressed by his colleague.
NTV has not issued a detailed public statement beyond parting ways with Günay.
The hot mic moment followed Erdoğan’s first White House visit with Trump in six years, a meeting that Ankara’s critics cast as one where Turkey made concessions without securing clear gains on long-running disputes.
Trump publicly pressed Turkey to stop buying Russian oil and hinted that he could lift sanctions to allow sales of advanced F-35 jets to Ankara, statements that stopped short of confirming US policy changes.
The visit was followed by Turkish Airlines signing a deal to buy up to 225 Boeing aircraft, a move seen by critics as a bribe ordered by Erdoğan to secure a meeting with Trump.
Turkish main opposition leader claimed before the details of the Boeing purchase emerged that Erdoğan secretly met with Trump’s eldest son, where the Turkish president promised the large-scale purchase to secure the Oval Office meeting.
Analysts noted that core sticking points remain between the two NATO allies despite cordial leader-level ties, including Turkey’s removal from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program in 2019 and US restrictions linked to Ankara’s purchase of a Russian air defense system.
Social media buzzed with commentary on Günay’s remarks, with many Turkish users saying he summed up the visit and the country’s direction.
His comments contrasted sharply with the coverage by his employer NTV and other pro-government outlets, which portrayed Erdoğan’s meeting with Trump as a triumph for Turkey and its regional role.
Reporters Without Borders ranks Turkey 159th of 180 in its 2025 index and says most national media operate under government influence.
