Trump congratulated Erdogan on referendum

President Donald trump congratulated the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan's referendum, which granted him vast new powers.

State Department officials noted widespread violations of the voting, which gave Erdogan his victory and warned Turkey on the protection of all the rights and freedoms of its citizens. In the balance between U.S. interests and American values, analysts say, the President considers that the importance of Turkey in foreign policy outweighed any concerns about his government's policies.

"The President recognizes" concern about the growing authoritarianism of Erdogan, said a senior administration official. "On the other hand, Turkey is a vital NATO ally in the fight against terrorism, and I believe that he feels that these competing constituencies he needed to Turkey with us in this fight, and he allowed other elements of the government to go to referendum."

Analysts suggest that trump has called Erdogan, because the White house was not high-ranking officials of national security to give good advice. The national security adviser McMaster was in Afghanistan, and his Deputy, Dina Powell traveled to the Middle East with Secretary General of defense James Mattis.

Propaganda trump contrasts sharply with the coolness between Obama and Erdogan, the Turkish leader acknowledged in an exclusive interview with CNN's Becky Anderson on Monday. "We have an agreement with Mr. trump, we did not have with President Obama," Erdogan said. "President trump an ideal, encouraging, and we're going to sit down and determine a roadmap as two strategic partners, the United States and Turkey as allies."

sections: Politics, World News, Accidents