--- title: Donald Trump Turkey: He Said He Had a Conflict of Interest description: In 2015, Trump said in an interview that he had a conflict of interest with Turkey because of his Trump Towers building in the country. canonical: https://time.com/4746348/donald-trump-turkey-conflict-interest/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-19T16:09:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T08:46:31.301Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Said That He Has a 'Conflict of Interest' in Turkey og:description: In a 2015 interview. og:url: https://time.com/4746348/donald-trump-turkey-conflict-interest/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf623d486e42eb88e/6988c38bab6d77ddf86adb36/gettyimages-669994524.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: trump-turkey-conflict og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Said That He Has a 'Conflict of Interest' in Turkey twitter:description: In a 2015 interview. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf623d486e42eb88e/6988c38bab6d77ddf86adb36/gettyimages-669994524.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 00:24 video:published: 2017-04-19 section: politics topics: Turkey relations, NATO alliance, conflict of interest, Trump Towers Istanbul, real estate development, international partnership genre: interview, news clip tones: casual, conversational, praising emotions: pride (medium), admiration (medium), confidence (medium) sentiment: positive audience: political news readers, foreign policy observers, business and real estate audiences, general news viewers people: Donald Trump organizations: NATO, Trump Organization products: Trump Towers content_suitability: politics [00:00-00:24] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # President Trump Said in 2015 That He Has a 'Little Conflict of Interest' in Turkey > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=7c84be3c-76b0-48b0-bee6-2f036b7f316f&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Said in 2015 That He Has a 'Little Conflict of Interest' in Turkey [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Said in 2015 That He Has a 'Little Conflict of Interest' in Turkey](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/19AQMCws.m3u8) (0:24)  _Published 2017-04-19. President Trump said that he has a "conflict of interest" in Turkey because of a development there in a 2015 interview._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary President Trump is asked whether Turkey is a reliable partner, as a NATO ally. He responds by citing a 'little conflict of interest' because of a major building project in Istanbul called Trump Towers. He describes his familiarity with Turkey and praises its people and leader. ## Key points - Trump is asked whether Turkey is a reliable partner, noting it is a NATO ally. (00:00) - Trump says he has a 'little conflict of interest' regarding Turkey. (00:04) - Trump says he has a major building in Istanbul. (00:08) - Trump describes the Istanbul project as a tremendously successful job called Trump Towers. (00:12) - Trump says the Istanbul project consists of two towers instead of one. (00:15) - Trump says he has gotten to know Turkey very well. (00:19) - Trump describes the Turkish people as amazing and incredible. (00:21) - Trump says Turkey has a strong leader. (00:23) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:08] Turkey as a reliable partner question. The interviewer asks whether Turkey is a reliable NATO ally, and Trump begins to answer by raising a conflict of interest. - [00:08 to 00:24] Trump Towers in Istanbul and praise for Turkey. Trump describes his Trump Towers project in Istanbul and offers positive remarks about Turkey's people and leadership. ## Key quotes - [00:04] Trump: "I have a little conflict of interest" - [00:08] Trump: "I have a major, major building in Istanbul" - [00:12] Trump: "it's a tremendously succesful job. It's called Trump Towers." - [00:21] Trump: "they're amazing people, they're incredible people" ## Questions this video answers - Does Trump have a conflict of interest regarding Turkey? [00:04] - What business interest does Trump have in Istanbul? [00:08] - How well does Trump know Turkey? [00:19] - What does Trump think of Turkey's people and leadership? [00:21] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-00:24]: Discussion of a U.S. president's foreign relations and personal business interests in Turkey. by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Apr 19, 2017 4:09 PM UTC President Trump said that he has a "conflict of interest" in Turkey because of a development there in a 2015 interview. by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Apr 19, 2017 4:09 PM UTC President Trump said that he has a “conflict of interest” in Turkey because of a development there in a 2015 interview. The interview was resurfaced by [Mother Jones](http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/04/trump-turkey-erdogan-conflict-interest) after Trump faced criticism for [congratulating Turkey’s president](http://time.com/4743779/donald-trump-recep-tayyip-erdogan-referendum-turkey/) Tayyip Erdogan on winning a referendum that increases his power. “I have a little conflict of interest ’cause I have a major, major building in Istanbul,” Trump said on Breitbart News Daily. “It’s a tremendously successful job. It’s called Trump Towers—two towers, instead of one, not the usual one, it’s two.” The host of the news show was Breitbart executive [Steve Bannon](http://time.com/4657665/steve-bannon-donald-trump/), who now serves as an advisor to Trump in the White House. Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, who now works in the White House as well, also faced criticism as users on Twitter resurfaced an old tweet of hers from 2012 that thanked Erdogan. > [](https://twitter.com/IvankaTrump/status/193337302066540545) Trump has said [“the president can’t have a conflict of interest”](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/23/us/politics/trump-new-york-times-interview-transcript.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=b-lede-package-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&%5Fr=0) because he’s [not covered by U.S. laws](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/11/23/trumps-claim-that-the-president-cant-have-a-conflict-of-interest/?utm%5Fterm=.040d4371bba2) governing conflicts in the executive branch. He’s currently being [sued by an ethics watchdog group](http://time.com/money/4643259/donald-trump-lawsuit-emoluments-money-foreign-governments/) which argues that his financial dealings violate a constitutional prohibition on financial conflicts. ## Transcript [00:00] What do you do with Turkey? Is Turkey a reliable [00:02] partner? I know they're a NATO ally. Are they a reliable [00:04] partner? Wee, I have a little conflict of interest because [00:08] I have a major, major building in Istanbul, and it's a [00:12] tremendously succesful job. It's called Trump Towers. [00:15] Two towers Instead of one. Not the usual one, it's two. [00:19] And I've gotten to know Turkey very well. And they're [00:21] amazing people, they're incredible people. 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