Personally, I believe Turkish President Recep Erdogan knew exactly what would happen when he gave all the NATO leaders a “Magnum” .357 handgun at the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey. What happened next is exactly the reason he did it.
President Trump brings Erdogan’s gift back to the White House, with a casual ‘cool gun’ nonchalant approach. Meanwhile, back in Europe, the apoplectic recipients, administrators’, various office bureaucracies and support staff that surround each NATO politician are physically and mentally stuck, not knowing what to do.
I have read many of the media reports, and they are incredibly funny -and sad- but mostly funny {SEE HERE}.
The general response is that President Erdogan has just handed the NATO leaders something akin to an unstable, portable nuclear device. Most of the European’s won’t even touch the custom case that accompanies the handgun, let alone actually touch the alarmingly scary pistol itself.
THE MESSAGE – AGAINST THE BACKDROP: How is NATO going to “defend itself” if they cannot even receive, handle or carry a firearm? A poignant and not-s0-subtle message that is more than a little funny; in a typically Turkish manner of irony.
The main NATO request in Turkey was for U.S. patriot missiles. {CITATION} Ursula von der Leyen, the European Union commission president, thanked Erdogan for the gift, which will be decommissioned and donated to a military museum, her spokesperson said. […] “It struck me that my gift of maple syrup kind of undermatched,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters, adding that the firearm was now in police possession. “I would like to reassure Canadians, they keep guns away from me.” {CITATION}
Sometimes life makes you feel like you are sitting alone, looking at the geopolitical world – and no one can see the absurdity of it all. We need advanced weapons to protect ourselves against the horrible Russians, NATO proclaimed.
Meanwhile, “The Belgian prime minister, Bart De Wever, only “learned of the exact nature of the gift” after landing in Belgium. “The prime minister was surprised and immediately handed it over to airport police so it could be placed in a secure safe and the matter was handled in accordance with relevant procedures,” an official said on Thursday.”
Several revolvers, including those belonging to Starmer, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and the Dutch prime minister, Rob Jetten, have for now remained in the Turkish capital. Depending on the laws in force, transporting firearms is often far from straightforward, especially when they are fully functional. {source}
The Magnum styled .357 revolvers came with six bullets. “Beyond the logistical challenge, the gift also puzzled several delegations attending the summit.” … “The question asked over and over again: why such a gift?” … “The Turkish presidency did not immediately respond.”
Von der Leyen “expressed her thanks” to Erdoğan for the gift, her spokesperson said, adding that it would be decommissioned and donated to a military museum.
These same NATO leaders are asking President Trump for advanced Patriot Missiles.
Perhaps I’m the only one who can see the point Erdogan is making.
European NATO leaders dislike Recep Erdogan immensely.
For many years I have outlined Erdogan’s duplicity; quite simply – I am not a fan, yet you cannot deny the respect he has created against his adversaries within his position as the world’s most powerful gatekeeper for the future of Europe.
Europe says Erdogan cannot be trusted with American F-35 technology.
Europe asks President Trump for advanced patriot missiles.
Erdogan gives European leaders handguns.
European leaders and every layer of their bureaucratic staff are frozen.
Well played.
👉 War with Russia Check
Weapons and intelligence assets for Ukraine Check
.357 Magnum pistols for political leaders in Europe awful👈
Beautiful gun.
Amazing it does not shoot unless the trigger is pulled.
Would love to have one.
Those Euro-weenies need a gun like they need a hole in the head.
i disagree; the europeans need a LOT of guns right now.
and not to fight russia.
Manufacture something like a couple million of these
FP-45 Liberator pistols.
Motivated individuals would take care of the rest and trade up as they go.
It looks like a beautiful and expensive weapon.
The only thing that disturbs me about the story was that the guns were loaded. That’s an ill-advised and unexpected hazard.
I reflexively check every firearm. Someone else might not think of that. “Just playing around with it” and – avoidable tragedy? Hence, an irresponsible thing to do.
If you want to include ammo as part of the gift, a small and decorative box of shiny bullets could have been within the gift box. But one would not expect a presentation weapon to actually be loaded. It should not be stored that way, hence the inner-box idea.
According to the article in the Guardian, linked in the link below the picture of the President with his cool new revolver,
“Alongside the gun sitting in a red box lined in black were six live rounds and a note exempting the weapons from export controls.”
They were not loaded.
That was not entirely clear from the early stories I had read.
Good to learn that.
The Magnum styled .357 revolvers came with six bullets.
Maybe he was hoping a few of those WEENIES would shoot themselves in the head.
The guns weren’t loaded. The ammo was displayed in the presentation box next to the weapon.
It doesn’t say the gun was loaded, just “came with ammo”, no problem keeping a gun loaded for a short time. Ammo lasts a long time in storage. I’ve seen ammo that was produced 50 yrs ago and still will fire.
The Magnum .357 revolver Kicks like a mule when fired. If any of these Zeropean diplomats that are not experienced in firing a magnum Hand Cannon attempt to fire their “Defensive Gift” from Erdogan, it may well kick back and crack them very hard in their forehead.
Aside from the implied hypocritical symbolism,….. Maybe, Erdogan also wants to knock some sense into their EU noggins, and that’s why he included the six bullets???
It’s fine to include six bullets – but not in the chamber.
There are seven (7) bullets on President Trump’s desk.
0.o
Good catch. Makes me wonder about the voracity of that pic.
DaPicayne: Kicks like a mule, not hardly especially the heavier long barrel version of which I had until that unfortunate boating accident. But I will agree in the limp wristing euroweenie hands it could in fact be more than they could handle. It would be truly humorous to see that on video.
Interesting! Things that make ya’ go hmmmm… 🙂
Actually, the .44 Magnum is the gun that kicks like a mule.
The .357 Magnum is smaller with less recoil.
The .44 Magnum is “the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off.”
God bless Dirty Harry Callahan. There certainly isn’t anyone like him in the EU.
Except for Erdogan.
“You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya, punk?”
Outstanding!
A gun that size will absorb a lot of recoil. Now 357 mag in a 2-3″ barrel revolver will jump a bit so hang on.
perhaps i am the only one asking why we keep pouring fuel on the war against russia…
even now, the “over in one day” promise could be kept.
Maybe Erdogan was hinting that “they all now have a way out”, if they have the desire.
They are SLOWLY coming to the realization that Europe is now irrelevant. That of course hate the crass yankee dogs.Having to admit they are dependent on the evil Trump and crass America is more than they can stand. Get your popcorn and beverage ready.
Someone should have told the President how to properly hold a gun before he let a picture be taken. You don’t put your finger on the trigger, even if you believe it is unloaded, unless you intend to pull the trigger…
Hence the risk of providing an [unexpectedly …] LOADED gun, particularly to a presumed amateur. Who HASN’T been trained on “basic” things like that.
However, Trump’s finger is, indeed, not actually touching the trigger. And I’m quite sure it’s no longer loaded.
It looks to me like his finger is not directly on the trigger, but slightly to the side of it which is not the same.
unbelievable
Look again, his finger is not on the trigger, it’s next to it, outside the trigger guard.
Yep. Right where it should be.
Need glasses? Look again!
That picture might be AI.
He was hoping they’d shoot themselves or most of them anyway or Zelensky but I’m just guessing.
Your choice of “gatekeeper” to describe Turkey and Erdogan is very apropos considering the geography of the Bosporus and Dardanelles. As the strict enforcer of the Montreux Convention, Turkey has played a key role in limiting power projection of the Soviet Union/Russia into the Mediterranean littoral.
Well,… Augie Doggy’s Daddy,…. while Putin dreams of rebuilding the USSR empire, perhaps Erdogan has his own of recreating the Ottoman empire? Checkmate?
Anyone with any sense would have assumed they were loaded and checked to confirm it. Gun Safety 101.
Erdogan is a sly one. These NATO leaders are a bunch of unserious leaders and he just proved it again.
Who cares about Turkey and the Euroweenies. Let me know when the UN no longer exists.
Meanwhile our Repulic is dying. Only two more years of President Trump and then we are screwed.
Trump level trolling. Kudos to Trukey.
Some have missed the Turkish manufacturing aspect of this. Turkish guns are generally good quality and better value than others.
I think he was hoping they would use them like Adolph in his final curtain call in 1945 Berlin. Except for Trump, where he hoped he might use it on Bibi.
President Erdogan has an insanely clever sense of humor.
Well played, indeed.
0.o
I can’t say that I understand but boy does it seem funny, they are asking for missiles but won’t touch a handgun.
Is that like people always asking for a handout but they don’t want to get their hands dirty?
We can speculate freely about why he chose it, but it’s a sophisticated and thoughtful gift. Certainly not cheap.
Did you hear about the woman who accidentally shot her husband 9 times with a 6-shooter?
I have to admit that I smiled a lot after reading about his gift yesterday. All of the same emotions our host wrote about went through my head as well.
What a masterful gift on so many levels
Might I suggest Russian-Roulette.
I love everything about that side-arm except the Muslim symbol next to the trigger.
.
But easy enough to dremel away the crescent moon and star.
If Trump had gone to a gun range the same day, how much would that revolver be worth?
NATO = a coterie of buffoons; vainglorious supercilious hypocritical buffoons.
Saw the 6 bullets…if really serious… need some hollow points…