Trump Says He’ll ‘Wipe Out’ Turkish Economy If Turkey Takes Out Kurdish Population

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would “wipe out” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s economy if Turkey’s military operation in Syria eliminates the Kurdish population.

The president was expanding on his administration’s Sunday decision to pull the remaining U.S. troops out of northern Syria during a Wednesday White House press conference.

“We have no soldiers in the area. We’ve been talking to Turkey for three years. They’ve been wanting to do this for many years, as you know,” the president said in regard to Erdogan’s plan to create a “safe zone” in northern Syria.