Another Strongman For Trump To Admire

Media coverage of Trump's tweet about his phone call with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has overshadowed stories about other Trump phone calls with foreign leaders, including a conversation with Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte.

Relations between the U.S. and the Philippines (a former U.S. colony) have been frosty, to put it mildly, since the election of President Duterte on June 30; recently Duterte has been threatening to turn away from a decades-long policy of cooperation with the U.S. and toward China and Russia. At times -- his pronouncements are erratic and inconsistent (remind you of anyone? He's sometimes called "the Trump of the East") -- he has called for an end to joint U.S.-Philippine military exercises and the expulsion of U.S. Special Operations forces from the southern island of Mindanao.

According to a statement by Amnesty International:

Rodrigo Duterte’s first 100 days as president have been marked by state-sanctioned violence on a truly shocking scale. His brutal crackdown on those allegedly involved in drug crimes has led to carnage on the streets and the obliteration of key human rights, including the right to life and to due process.

According to the article:

President Duterte has promised to kill tens of thousands – and on one occasion millions - of people involved in the drugs trade. He has actively encouraged the killing of drug addicts themselves, as well as offering huge bounties to those who turn in drug lords; dead or alive.

The ensuing bloodshed has affected bystanders as well as alleged criminals, including a five-year-old girl who was shot to death by two men on motorbikes and many others killed in cases of “mistaken identity”. Many of the killings have been carried out by unknown assailants and there are credible reports of police complicity in these deaths.

Duterte's killing spree has been condemned by the European Parliament and the International Criminal Court -- and by President Obama. Duterte has responded by threatening to withdraw from the ICC, and by using a Tagalog term for President Obama translating roughly as "son of a whore."

However, he seems to have found a supporter for his brutal tactics -- Donald Trump, who is well known to be an aficionado of authoritarian, strongarm behavior by dictatorial regimes.

Click here for an article at The Washington Post, by Emily Rauhala, entitled "Duterte: During phone call, Trump praised my drug war as the ‘right way.’"

In a statement Saturday, Duterte shared details of a seven-minute conversation that took place Friday. He said that during the call, Trump endorsed his campaign against drug users and dealers — a campaign that has left at least 4,500 Filipinos dead in about five months. Trump told Duterte that he was doing it the “right way,” according to Duterte’s account.

“I could sense a good rapport, an animated President-elect Trump,” he added. “And he was wishing me success in my campaign against the drug problem.”

Trump invited Duterte to visit the White House next year.