President Trump defended American evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson, who is on trial in Turkey, as a “fine gentleman and Christian leader” who is “being persecuted in Turkey for no reason.”
While tweeting that he hopes Brunson is allowed to return to the U.S., Trump also quipped, “They call him a Spy, but I am more a Spy than he is.”
Pastor Andrew Brunson, a fine gentleman and Christian leader in the United States, is on trial and being persecuted in Turkey for no reason. They call him a Spy, but I am more a Spy than he is. Hopefully he will be allowed to come home to his beautiful family where he belongs!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2018
Brunson’s trial began Monday. He was detained in October 2016 and is accused of aiding plotters behind the 2016 coup.
Brunson, who is a 50-year-old Christian missionary from North Carolina, has denied the charges. He faces up to 35 years in prison.
Last fall, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to float the possibility of trading Brunson for Fetullah Gulen, a Muslim critic living in Pennsylvania whom Erdogan blames for orchestrating the coup. “You have a pastor, too,” Erdogan said in a speech. “You give us that one and we’ll work with our judiciary and give back yours.”
The White House has pushed for Brunson’s release, and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Sam Brownback, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for religious freedom, traveled to Turkey for Brunson’s trial, according to NPR.
