Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the exchange have confirmed to independent outlet Middle East Eye that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented former U.S. President Donald Trump with a one-of-a-kind gold-plated personalized revolver during Trump’s attendance at last week’s NATO summit held in Ankara.
While Erdogan extended similar customized Turkish-made revolvers to every NATO head of state in attendance at the gathering, Trump’s firearm is the only one confirmed to feature the special gold finish, the sources add. The weapon matches the specifications of the Gumusay .357 Magnum, the first domestically produced revolver manufactured in Turkey, and arrived housed in a polished wooden case emblazoned with both the Turkish national flag and the official NATO emblem. An inscribed placard inside the case explicitly labels the gun as “the first revolver-type handgun produced in our country.” The only modification made to Trump’s version, insiders note, is the gold plating applied to the revolver’s grip. As of press time, the White House has not issued any comment in response to Middle East Eye’s requests for clarification about the gift.
This high-profile gift exchange unfolds against a backdrop of steadily warming bilateral ties between the Erdogan administration and Trump’s White House. A senior U.S. official recently characterized the personal dynamic between the two leaders as marked by “special chemistry,” a rapport that has paved the way for deeper cooperation between Washington and Ankara.
In the coming months, the Trump administration is widely expected to roll back economic sanctions imposed on Turkey under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). Those penalties were levied in 2019 after Ankara purchased Russia’s advanced S-400 air defense missile system, a deal that sparked months of friction between the NATO ally and the United States. To resolve the long-running dispute permanently, Trump is also preparing to move forward with an agreement that would see Turkey transfer or sell the S-400 system to a third-party Gulf state, with the United Arab Emirates emerging as the leading candidate for the purchase.
The diplomatic push aligns with both warming U.S.-Turkey relations and Ankara’s broader strategic goal of expanding Turkish defense exports as a core pillar of its foreign policy. Data from the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, cited by Reuters, shows that between 2019 and 2024, Turkey ranked as the world’s third-largest exporter of small arms globally, trailing only the United States and Italy, with total exports reaching roughly $3 billion over the five-year period.
Under existing U.S. federal ethics regulations, any gift from a foreign government valued at more than $525 automatically becomes property of the U.S. federal government, unless the recipient pays the government the full appraised value of the item to retain it. This means Trump will either be required to turn the custom revolver over to federal authorities or cover its assessed cost if he wishes to keep the unique gift in his personal possession.
The gold-plated revolver has drawn extra public interest due to Trump’s widely documented preference for gold-colored finishes and luxury decor. During his first term in office, Trump oversaw a high-profile renovation of the Oval Office that incorporated multiple gold-toned ornamental and decorative elements. This is also not the first time a foreign leader has gifted Trump a gold-plated firearm: in 2019, then-Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis presented Trump with a limited-edition gold-plated CZ 75 pistol engraved with the year of Trump’s birth.