Erdogan Calls for Removal of Trump Name from Istanbul Towers
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the immediate removal of the ‘Trump’ name from the Trump Towers Istanbul due to the Republican US presidential nominee’s anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Erdogan made the call during a speech on Saturday evening.
“[Trump] has no tolerance for Muslims living in the US. And on top of that they used a brand in [Istanbul] with his name. The ones who put that brand on their building should immediately remove it,” Erdogan said, Russia Today reported.
Trump Towers Istanbul was developed by Turkish billionaire Aydın Doğan and opened in 2012 and Doğan has been paying Trump for the brand name.
However, after Trump proposed to ban all Muslims from entering the US at the end of last year, the franchise said it was “evaluating its legal ties with the brand name.”
"We regret and condemn Trump's discriminatory remarks. Such statements bear no value and are products of a mind that does not understand Islam, a peace religion, at all," said Trump Shopping Mall Manager Bulent Kural.
Erdoğan attended the opening ceremony of Trump Towers in 2012 when he was the prime minister, but said on Saturday that he now regretted it: “I also made a mistake and opened [Trump Towers].”
