Turks film themselves smashing iPhones amid US-Turkey trade war

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Local Turkish social media has been awash this week with footage of people smashing their iPhones in protest of US President Donald Trump and his recent sanctions on Turkey.

Anti-American rhetoric grew in Turkey in recent days as the Turkish Lira plummeted against the US dollar and Trump doubled tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum imports as well as imposed sanctions on the Turkish Interior and Justice Ministers in response to the continued detention of American Pastor Andrew Brunson.

In response to Washington’s measures against Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a boycott of American electronic products, notably Apple.

“If they have the iPhone, there is Samsung,” he said during a speech in Ankara earlier this week. 

In support of Erdogan’s decision, some in Turkey have taken to destroying their Apple products and posting it online. One video made local headlines in southeastern Turkey as a businessman in Gaziantep smashed his and four of his friend’s iPhones while calling out Trump.

“This one is for the Chief, President Erdogan,” Gazi Albayrak says as he breaks the first device with a sledgehammer. Although they share a last name, Gazi is not related to Berat Albayrak, Ankara’s current Finance Minister and the Turkish President’s son-in-law who has been facing mounting criticism online over the unfolding financial crisis.

“This is for Minister Abdulhamit Gul and this one for Suleyman Soylu,” the young businessman continues, calling out the names of the sanctioned ministers of Interior and Justice as he crushes two more phones. 

“This is for the homeland, and this is for the Turkish flag,” he adds while destroying the last two.

Other videos of people smashing their Apple products on Turkish social media have also gone viral as tensions between the countries persist despite efforts by Ankara to restore confidence in its economy.

Turkish man proudly smashing an iPhone to protest America pic.twitter.com/DFZzOV6OEP

— Mutlu Civiroglu (@mutludc) August 16, 2018

Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, told ambassadors in the country’s capital on Wednesday that Turkey was ready to discuss outstanding issues with the US, as long as there were no threats, Reuters reported.

The US has not responded to Cavusoglu, however, at least not yet, and at least not publicly.

Editing by John J. Catherine