Mr. Erdogan’s photos with the president of the United States were a particular prize, and sent a powerful message back home. So did the photos last week of Mr. Erdogan shaking hands with Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain. This is a time for realpolitik, and the world is prepared to do business with useful strongmen like Mr. Erdogan — even if that makes the struggle infinitely harder for pro-democracy voices in Turkey and elsewhere.