What’s in a pin? Trump dons golden F-22 during Erdogan meeting

WASHINGTON — As US President Donald Trump sat in the newly gold-adorned Oval Office with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a smaller piece of precious metal caught the eye of some observers: a pin, worn on the lapel of Trump’s jacket, that resembled a fighter jet.

Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a golden F-22 Raptor, a miniature of the Lockheed Martin-made fifth-generation stealth fighter.

What was less clear, and remains so, is why the president chose to wear that particular pin for that particular meeting on Thursday. (A White House spokesperson gamely confirmed to Breaking Defense that it was an F-22, but declined to comment further on Trump’s wardrobe.)

The detail is particularly intriguing considering Turkey has long sought re-entry into another American fifth-generation fighter jet program: the F-35, which is also made by Lockheed Martin and is the counterpart to the air-to-air specialist F-22.

“We’re going to discuss the F-35. We’ll be discussing all of the things that you know about …,” Trump said, sitting next to Erdogan. “And I think you’ll be successful with buying the things that he’d like to buy. … We’ll have to see. We haven’t even started yet but I know he wants the F-35, and he’s wanted, and we’re talking about that very seriously.”

RELATED: Trump wants a twin-engine F-35. Experts say it’s ‘not feasible.’

Erdogan, likewise, said the two would have an “opportunity” to talk about “some of the issues regarding the F-35” as well as F-16s.

Turkey was ejected from the international F-35 program in 2019, during Trump’s first term, after it agreed to purchase Russian air defense systems. And though Ankara is currently developing its own indigenous fifth-generation fighter called the KAAN, Erdogan has long sought to work his way back under the F-35 umbrella. (The F-22 was never offered to international partners and is only flown by the US Air Force.)

Despite Trump’s optimistic words, however, no public announcement was made following Erdogan’s visit regarding the F-35 or any other deal.

As for the pin, Trump continued to wear it throughout meetings on Thursday, and it was affixed to his jacket again this morning when he appeared at the Ryder Cup.

U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledges the crowd on the first tee during the Friday afternoon four-ball matches of the 2025 Ryder Cup at Black Course at Bethpage State Park Golf Course on September 26, 2025 in Farmingdale, New York. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)