U.S. President Donald Trump praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a friend who gets "high marks" for "running a very difficult part of the world."
Trump's effusive praise for the Turkish leader came on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday despite tensions between the two countries over the conduct of Turkish security officials toward American protesters.
Hours before Trump met Erdogan for talks, Erdogan supporters punched and kicked three protesters who interrupted his speech at a New York hotel.
Erdogan was addressing several hundred people at an event organized by a business group, the Turkish-American National Steering Committee, when one man stood and began shouting, “Terrorist! Terrorist!”
voice of America TV footage shows audience members pummeling him as U.S. security officers tried to hustle him to safety. Soon after he was gone, a second man followed suit and also was repeatedly punched and hit over the head with Turkish flags as he was led outside by U.S. security.
Erdogan tried to calm the crowd, saying: “Let's not sacrifice the whole meeting for a couple of terrorists.”
Then a third protester started heckling the president from a different part of the crowd. Although that incident occurred off-camera, a VOA reporter who was nearby said he too was beaten.
This was the second time this year that protesters in America have been assaulted by Erdogan supporters.