Trump seems unaware of the fact that he was welcomed to the Philippines in precisely the same style as Obama and every other recent American president.
In Rodrigo Duterte’s Philippines, the extrajudicial killing of suspected drug users and dealers — gunned down by police officers or death squads, with bystanders as young as 4 years old caught in the crossfire — has become a part of daily life, with the death toll running into the thousands in the 16 months since he was sworn in as president.
“Duterte’s Haell,” a Field of Vision documentary on the Philippine president’s drug war, directed by Aaron Goodman and Luis Liwanag.
Duterte’s appalling human rights record, however, is apparently not a subject of much concern to President Donald Trump, who met with the Philippine leader in Manila on Monday, on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.
“Human rights briefly came up,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, told reporters after the two leaders met for 40 minutes.
That claim was quickly contradicted by Duterte’s spokesperson, Harry Roque. “There was no mention of human rights, there was no mention of extralegal killings,” Roque said. “There was only a rather lengthy discussion of the Philippine war on drugs with President Duterte doing most of the explaining.”
“The U.S. president did not comment on the war against drugs,” Roque added. “There were instances when he was nodding his head as the Philippine president was explaining.”
Trump’s failure to criticize the widespread executions in the Philippines was not a surprise, given that a leaked transcript of a phone call between the two men in April showed that the American president said that he was calling his counterpart “to congratulate you, because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem.”
Indeed, as he embarked on his trip to Asia, Trump seemed preoccupied with the fact that his predecessor, Barack Obama, had a falling-out with Duterte last year over the subject. On two consecutive days before he left Washington, Trump brought up, unprompted, the tension between Obama and Duterte.
Pres. Trump previews visit to Philippines, "where the previous administration was not exactly welcome, as you probably remember." pic.twitter.com/UBcgr0r1qq
— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) October 31, 2017
For 2nd straight day Trump brags about being buddy-buddy with Duterte, who's murdering his own people under guise of a war on drugs pic.twitter.com/p0UjN0aOPZ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 1, 2017
On both occasions, Trump implied incorrectly that the spat had led to the Philippines cancelling a planned visit by Obama. In fact, it was Obama who canceled a meeting with Duterte, one that was scheduled to take place at the ASEAN summit in Laos last year, after the Philippine president told reporters that he would curse the American president to his face if he dared to criticize his killing spree.
For his part, Trump gushed to reporters that his visit to the Philippines was a personal triumph, pointing to the warm welcome from Duterte as proof that he had singlehandedly restored American prestige in the region.
Still basking in the glow of his reception at the ASEAN gala dinner in Manila on Sunday, where he wore a Barong Tagalog, an embroidered shirt worn at formal events in the Philippines, and was greeted on a red carpet by Duterte, with whom he later shared a toast. Trump told the traveling press that the welcome was “red-carpet like I think probably nobody has ever received.”
President Trump is greeted by President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte at an #ASEAN 50th Anniversary Gala Celebration. #POTUSinAsia pic.twitter.com/Xf1jOyituk
— Department of State (@StateDept) November 12, 2017
WATCH: The toast shared by the two Presidents during the Gala dinner: President Duterte and US President @realDonaldTrump @manilabulletin pic.twitter.com/x6TB6jc5Eh
— Argyll Cyrus (@argyllcyrus_MB) November 12, 2017
Such an elaborate greeting showed, Trump said, “a sense of respect, perhaps for me a little bit, but really for our country, and I’m very proud of that.”
Trump neglected to mention that every other world leader who attended the summit received the exact same red-carpet welcome from the Philippine president.
LOOK: President Duterte and partner Honeylet Avanceña welcome Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev to the ASEAN gala dinner @ABSCBNNews pic.twitter.com/GlcFywsoIr
— Dharel Placido (@dgplacido) November 12, 2017
Perhaps more importantly, Trump seemed unaware of the fact that he had been welcomed in precisely the same style as Obama and every other recent American president. Every detail of his welcome — the traditional shirt, the red carpet, the toast from the Philippine president — was identical to that offered to Obama by Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino, just two years ago at the same Manila convention center.
Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, was feted in precisely the same manner by former Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2003.
In other words, having complained for decades that American presidents are not sufficiently respected by U.S. allies in Asia, Trump was treated to a completely standard welcome by one nation, and somehow came away believing that such treatment was offered only to him.
It is worth noting that all three presidents were also the focus of angry protests, in which they were burned in effigy by Filipinos opposed to the ongoing presence of the American military in its former colony. Although, for sheer inventiveness, it has to be said that the flaming effigy of Trump as a four-armed human swastika, was exceptional.
Militants burn effigy of US Pres. Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/Yxex3FoYT2
— Doris Bigornia (@DorisBigornia) November 13, 2017
In addition to their shared, racially tinged loathing of Obama — just last week, the Philippine leader called the former American president “so black and arrogant” — Trump and Duterte also bonded over their inability to deal with tough questions from reporters. Trump was reportedly pleased when Duterte called American reporters “spies” for wanting to know if the two leaders would discuss human rights in their meeting.
Trump laughed as Duterte shut down questions. "You are the spies," Duterte said, referring to press. "Hah, hah, hah," Trump said laughing. "You are," Duterte repeated. (per WH pool) https://t.co/K4M2JsQCzw
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) November 13, 2017
177 journalists have been killed in the Philippines since 1986, making it among the deadliest countries to be a journalist.
— Megha Rajagopalan (@meghara) November 13, 2017
Hah, hah, hah. https://t.co/nsBiwkRVxD
Top Photo: President Donald Trump with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit dinner in Manila on Sunday.
Apparently Duterte’s treatment of drug dealers is wildly popular in the Philippines, the very definition perhaps of ‘populist’ i.e. what people actually want.
Yes, you were welcome alright, as long as you ran around with your tail between your legs and didn’t say anything to upset Duerte. And that’s exactly what you did! ?
Trump has a great fascination for authoritarians and tin-pot dictators and has repeatedly demonstrated that he would love to be one of them. As for Duterte, he is a disgusting piece of human excrement, lower than dirt and even lower than Trump, something which is hard to do.
from PPS 23:
Warming up to China? After China has taken control of the Philippine’s Spratley Islands? All China wants from the Philippines is total control as well as its trove of natural resources that Filipinos are unaware they are actually sitting upon.
I think ALL journalism is 100% opinion. The only fact that matters is that information exists. Furthermore, most people have no clue what a media company like CNN or MSNBC is. They are nothing more than an advertising channel. The B/S or news as you all call it, is filler.
I was trying to finish the article as I was once told to finish anything you read even if you don’t like the contents but I unfortunate could not. Very subjective article with lots of childish opinions I would say.
I consider this article a personal opinion. Expression of free speech. And many assumptions. Politics is like a battlefield: full evaluation only post battle.
Robert Mackey was the Intercept’s first really committed neocon propagandist, although the whole website lately seems to have embraced that outlook. Uppity small nations which don’t kneel before British-American majesty must be punished, and the corporate press — sadly, including the Intercept — will show us the way.
Bullshit.
what are you talking about? the intercept is a neocon propaganda web site? did you vote for tramp by any chance? totally delusional…
I’m glad you brought up previous presidents, Robert, and perhaps someone should tell Trump nothing bad is going to happen to him for firing Mueller and every other person in Justice that might want to investigate him – for anything; bury their work in some cornfield. The one public discussion that truly frightens the deep state and previous administrations more than anything else is “obstruction of justice,” and that’s why Trump will never be charged with or impeached for that crime. Say, hasn’t Mueller himself already helped obstruct justice for known war criminals by intentionally ignoring their crimes, as has every other attorneys general, U.S. attorneys or FBI director since Iran-Contra?
Nice pictures. :(
This deluded president seems desperate for love and affection from the Philippine president now that his offer to Little Kim to be his next best friend was rejected. So Sad.
“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people” –Karl Marx
In America, Oxycontin is a Belief System that kills someone every 15 minutes
It’s a close competition as to which of them is more mentally ill and loathsome, but I have to give it to Duterte. Trump is a dangerous buffoon and loon who’s certainly caused much human suffering and now deaths, but Duterte is basically a mass serial killer and murderer running a country.
It seems Trump would love to be in Duterte’s shoes.
The orange rug gets the red carpet treatment.
Any bets that after 2 more drinks the orange rug meets the red carpet treatment?
yes…because the US president and his military lackeys NEVER kill anyone. if there’s anything other countries NEVER get tired of it’s earing about respect for human life from the person at the top of the world’s murder pyramid.
trump doesn’t care about the killing sprees in yemen, somalia or syria. why would he give a shit about the philippines? unless it was some american special ops jackass(es) getting killed, of course. then…y’know. awkward phone calls and srs bsns face and such.
To be perfectly honest, Trump does (or at least did) care about the gassing of Syrian children. Immediately thereafter, he proceeded to blanket bomb the living daylights out of the entire population of Syria to avoid such atrocities from ever being committed again. To date, the US death toll has surpassed that of ISIS and Assad combined. You have to admit no one kills better or bigger than the US.
The flaw in this argument is you’re presuming Trump believes the stuff he says, even on the same day that he said it.