Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suffered an unexpected health issue late Tuesday evening during a live television interview, which abruptly stopped broadcasting before he returned to the program for a short period, saying he was experiencing an upset stomach.
(Bloomberg) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suffered an unexpected health issue late Tuesday evening during a live television interview, which abruptly stopped broadcasting before he returned to the program for a short period, saying he was experiencing an upset stomach.
“I have seriously upset my stomach during intense campaigning today and yesterday and even pondered canceling the program,” Erdogan said as he returned to the broadcast several minutes later on Kanal 7. The program had begun 1.5 hours behind schedule, without explanation for the delay.
Erdogan, 69, is in the midst of an aggressive campaign to try and extend his 20-year rule at elections on May 14. He is facing the toughest race since taking office in 2003, with a broad alliance of opposition parties joining forces to replace him, while citizens struggle with the deepest cost-of-living crisis in two decades.
“Thank God, our president’s health is good,” Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Twitter.
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The cameras didn’t show Erdogan in the moments before the broadcast cut, focusing instead on an interviewer asking a question at the time. But microphones captured the concerned words of someone in the room saying, “oh no, oh no.”
“Naturally, we are facing such issues from time-to-time amid such a busy schedule,” Erdogan said after his return, asking for forgiveness from the audience. The interview ended after he answered one more question.
The opposition’s joint contender for president, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, wished Erdogan a quick recovery in a post on Twitter.
Erdogan is scheduled to make an appearance in three separate provinces in central Turkey on Wednesday.
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