GOP/SENATE/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TURKEY: “At one point during his extraordinary joint press conference with President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned his attention to the U.S. Senate. The chamber, he contended, would stop the ‘vicious cycle’ started by the House, which had passed biting sanctions on his country. But senators have a clear response to Erdogan that’s at odds with Trump’s friendly rhetoric toward the strongman leader: Don’t count on it. From Trump critics to stalwart allies of the president, many Republicans said Thursday that Erdogan’s visit to Washington had not changed any hearts or minds about Turkey, even after Trump lavished Erdogan with praise and he met privately with five Senate critics. At that meeting, Erdogan showed senators an anti-Kurd propaganda video, which seemed to backfire with the attendees. Republicans remain deeply frustrated with Trump’s withdrawal from Northern Syria and the Turkish incursion that followed.”
–Burgess Everett and Marianne Levine, “Republicans eye rebellion against Trump with Turkey sanctions,” Politico, November 14, 2019 6:15 pm