One of the most popular words used to describe Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan these days is “dictator.” That really doesn’t come as much of a shock. What is surprising, though, is that Erdogan doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seems to be embracing it as a title. Use of the word didn’t start off quietly. “Dictator Erdogan: Where does it all end?” a headline blared Nov. 4 in German newspaper Bild. Erdogan’s response? “It goes in one ear and out the other.” He doesn’t care if the West calls him a dictator, and said he will not back off his controversial decisions, like arresting Kurdish politicians, because of international pressure. On Nov. 16, Erdogan again made headlines, this time when one of his female senior advisers posted a petty, sexist and offensive tweet to a French journalist. “Your mama is a dictator,” the public official told Jean-Paul Ney, who had dared use the word to describe Erdogan. But Erdogan is smarter than the aggressive adviser and the troll army working on his behalf.
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