Democrats and human rights advocates are slamming President Donald Trump's decision to invite President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines to the White House, according to multiple media reports.
Duterte is an outspoken authoritarian leader accused of ordering extrajudicial killings of drugs, The New York Times reported.
Trump and Duterte spoke by phone over the weekend, according to the Times. During the conversation, Trump extended his invitation to Duterte to visit him at the White House.
Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., asked Trump to rescind a White House invitation, saying Duterte's human rights records should disqualify him, according to The Washington Times.
"President Trump's decision to welcome the Philippines' leader to Washington at a time when thousands of Filipinos are being slaughtered in the streets — at President Duterte's direction — calls into question long held American policy of promoting human rights and the rule of law," said Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
And Phelim Kine, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, went on Twitter to voice his concern.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., also went on Twitter.
But White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus defended the invitation during an appearance on ABC's "This Week."
"There is nothing right now facing this country and facing the region that is a bigger threat than what's happening in North Korea," Priebus said.
"If we don't have all of our folks together — whether they're good folks, bad folks, people we wish would do better in their country, doesn't matter, we've got to be on the same page," he said.
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