It’s President Erdogan v. Pikachu. Whose side are we on? The main character in the animated “Pokémon” series — or someone in his image — was detected this week in a viral video of protesters fleeing the wrath of Turkish police. Protests across the country are swelling since the imprisonment, on sham allegations, of Mr. Erdogan’s most formidable foe, Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul’s mayor. Yet, President Trump calls the Turkish strongman a “good leader.” 

These columns have been supportive of Mr. Trump as he fought back against lawfare. Endless criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits were attempted in an effort to end the political career of the Republican when he was out of power. So one would think that Mr. Trump would have a soft spot for Mr. Imamoglu. The mayor’s popularity rose as Erdoganomics nosedived, securing a landslide victory last week as leader of the opposition.