Turkey’s international reputation as a democratic country continues to take a battering as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tries to protect his image at home. The Turkish leader's draconian measures aimed at curbing the independent media are turning into the bane of his existence in his dealings with Western leaders and overshadowing his attempts to build an image as a respectable regional leader.

Such was the case during Erdogan’s visit to Washington last week for the Nuclear Security Summit. His advisers were more focused on securing a meeting with President Barack Obama than the summit itself following US press reports that the White House was expected to snub Erdogan because of his undemocratic steps in Turkey.

After what appears to have been much bargaining behind the scenes, Ankara eventually got a meeting with Obama, and Erdogan’s advisers hoped to use it as a photo op against critics at home. But a public rebuke by Obama regarding the state of the media in Turkey caused the plan to backfire.

Erdogan's trip to Washington came only days after he gave diplomats from Western countries, including the United States, a dressing down for attending the trial of Can Dundar and Erdem Gul, two prominent journalists who are facing espionage charges for reporting illegal arms transfers to anti-regime forces in northern Syria.