Conservative commentator and prominent pro-Israel voice Mark Levin attacked the idea of Washington giving Turkey advanced U.S. defense technology after President Donald Trump hinted he may move ahead with a step that would please Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Levin responded to a video in which Trump was asked whether he was coming to Turkey with a “big bag of gifts,” amid Turkish pressure to receive F110 engines and return to the F-35 program. Trump replied, “I think so,” adding that Erdogan is a strong NATO ally and that he would likely do “something that will make him very happy.” Levin fired back, “Stop giving the best of our technology to the deranged Islamist Erdogan. Turkey became a NATO member long before Erdogan took power.”
The dispute comes against the backdrop of a larger defense deal. Reuters reported that the Trump administration is preparing to move forward with the sale of dozens of General Electric F110 engines to Turkey, worth more than $700 million. The engines are intended for Turkey’s KAAN fighter jet, a flagship project for Ankara’s defense industry.
Critics fear the engine sale could reopen a wider, sensitive defense channel with Turkey. Ankara already received U.S. approval in recent years for a major F-16 deal that included 40 new aircraft and upgrades to dozens more jets, though Turkey later reduced the upgrade portion.
The main obstacle remains the F-35. Turkey was removed from the program after buying Russia’s S-400 air defense system, with the Pentagon saying then that Ankara could not operate a Russian system and an advanced American stealth fighter at the same time. The United States later imposed sanctions on Turkey’s defense procurement agency under CAATSA. Reuters also said Vice President JD Vance said the administration is examining how Turkey could receive F-35s within U.S. law, showing that a political thaw may be under discussion even as legal and security hurdles remain substantial.
