When Mehmet Simsek met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month, he didn’t come armed with words alone to defend his case. During the meeting, which lasted for two and a half hours, the economist and former finance minister laid out all the data he had on the Turkish economy. Moving from one point to another, Simsek gave the president an exhaustive picture of the state of the nation. The presentation made Erdogan feel uncomfortable, three sources familiar with the meeting told Middle East Eye. They said the president insisted Simsek’s words alone were enough.“You have to see all the data and understand what is going on yourself,” Simsek retorted, continuing his presentation.