Trump’s Love Affair With Philippines’ Duterte
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FEATURING SANHO TREE – Capping his 12-day tour of Asia, US President Donald Trump met with his counterpart in the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, a leader with a brutal reputation for overseeing a bloody “War on Drugs” that has killed thousands. Trump has boasted about having a “great relationship” with Duterte and commended him on his, “unbelievable job on the drug problem.”
The two apparently did not discuss the issue of human rights in either the Philippines or the US during their private meeting.
Trump and Duterte met for the first time in person on Saturday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting in Vietnam before Trump headed to Manila. On Sunday Duterte serenaded Trump at a dinner with a love song while protesters marched outside chanting “Ban Trump.”
Follow Sanho’s Twitter @Sanhotree and for more information about this issue visit www.hrw.org and www.amnesty.org/en/.
Sanho Tree, A Fellow at the Drug Policy Project with the Institute for Policy Studies.