Stunned White House officials raced to reassure Americans that the United States still cares about human rights after Donald Trump invited Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte—who has overseen thousands of extrajudicial killings in his brutal war on drugs—to visit the White House. The “very friendly” phone conversation, the administration insisted, didn’t mean that “human rights rights don’t matter.” (A friendlier relationship with the Philippines, Reince Priebus said, was “necessary” to help counter North Korea.) But as usual, the president remains his own worst enemy as his staff labor to put a rosy spin on his obvious affinity for authoritarians.
“I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem,” Trump told Duterte during the April 29 phone call, according to a transcript of the conversation obtained by multiple media outlets and published online by The Intercept. “Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that.”
At least 7,000 people have been killed in the Philippines since Duterte ordered a “shoot to kill” campaign against drug dealers and users after taking power last year, according to Human Rights Watch. Local activists say the true number is much higher, while some Philippines officials have denied the existence of state-sponsored killings. The State Department, which characterized the crackdown as an “apparent governmental disregard for human rights and due process,” has estimated a death toll of approximately 6,000 drug dealers through March. Duterte himself has bragged about throwing political enemies to their deaths from helicopters and gunning down criminals while riding through Davao city on his motorcycle. In 2015, he personally claimed to have killed “around 1,700” people.
While the State Department’s 2016 Human Rights Report condemned Duterte’s drug war as among its “most significant human rights problems,” Trump appeared sympathetic to the strongman’s extrajudicial approach. After Duterte said drugs were the “scourge” of the Philippines and that he had to “do something to preserve the Filipino nation,” Trump seemingly took a shot at his predecessor Barack Obama. “I understand that and fully understand that and I think we had a previous president who did not understand that,” he said.
The conversation with Duterte did eventually turn to the nuclear threat in North Korea, which prompted Trump to ask him to weigh in on Kim Jong-un’s mental state. Duterte responded that he thought he was “unstable,” noting that he is always smiling during missile tests and “has gone against China which is the last country he should rebuke.” Trump went on to call the North Korean leader “a madman with nuclear weapons” and boasted that the U.S. has “a lot of firepower over there,” adding, “We have two submarines—the best in the world. We have two nuclear submarines, not that we want to use them at all,” according to the transcript, which was confirmed by senior White House administration officials.
Trump’s disclosure to Duterte about the location of the U.S. submarines has also reportedly raised alarms among the intelligence community. Three Pentagon officials told BuzzFeed News, “We never talk about subs!” And while the Navy did recently publicize the arrival of the USS Michigan and the USS Cheyenne in Busan and Sasebo, respectively, the episode has apparently fueled existing concerns that the president can’t be trusted with classified information.
As the phone call concluded, Trump told the authoritarian leader that he is “a good man” and extended multiple invitations to Duterte to visit the White House. “If you want to come to the Oval Office, I will love to have you in the Oval Office. Anytime you want to come,” Trump said. “Work it out with your staff. Seriously, if you want to come over, just let us know.”
“Just take care of yourself, and we will take care of North Korea. Keep up the good work, you are doing an amazing job,” Trump continued. “Take care of yourself, Rodrigo. God bless you.”
As of the beginning of the month, when news first broke of Trump's invitation, Duterte said he was too busy to make a definite promise to visit the White House. “I'm tied up,” the self-proclaimed murderer said.
On Wednesday, Duterte warned that he may declare martial law throughout the Philippines to “protect the people” from the threat of Islamist militants. “There will be no abuses,” he said.
