Erdoğan gives child the mic, makes him insult CHP Chair Kılıçdaroğlu

Click to read the article in Turkish

President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended an opening ceremony in Turkey's Black Sea province of Trabzon yesterday afternoon (January 30).

After he made a speech there, he gave the microphone to a 10-year-old child. Gifted a toy car, he took the microphone and targeted main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

Addressing him as "Mr. Kemal" in the way Erdoğan usually does, the child called Kılıçdaroğlu a "traitor" and pointed to Erdoğan, saying, "He is the best man in elections; give your votes to my uncle President."

President and AKP Chair Erdoğan and the ministers accompanying him watched the child's speech with a smile on their faces.

CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu posted a message about the issue on his social media account shortly afterwards and said: "Please don't share the news about our little boy and don't speak ill of him. He is just a little kid. And this is also my request from our all party organizations: Act in line with what child pedagogy says without being overcome by your feelings!"

CHP politicians have lashed out the President

Several CHP politicians, especially MPs and mayors, have severely criticized President and AKP Chair Erdoğan over the incident.

CHP İstanbul MP Sezgin Tanrıkulu has said, "Down with your mentality and politics that engrain grudge and hate speech in children, making them speak from the rostrum to say, 'Mr. Kemal is a traitor'."

CHP Mersin MP Ali Mahir Başarır has defined the incident as "weakness in the mildest sense of the term,": "This is not politics! Politics has never been so at the bottom. Erdoğan has managed to do it, too."

İstanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu from the CHP has also said, "Unfortunately, ethics and morals in politics have been completely abandoned. The ones who govern the state laugh at the expression of 'traitor' which an innocent child was made to say. All good hearted people of Trabzon will stay away from these bad feelings. As a person from Trabzon, I condemn that this show was made in my home city." (RT/SD)