The State Department and the National Security Council were not consulted and caught off guard when President Donald Trump invited controversial Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to the White House, The New York Times reported on Sunday.
There has been harsh international criticism of Duterte for his encouragement of the extrajudicial killings of thousands of his own citizens suspected of dealing or using drugs since he was elected last June.
“By essentially endorsing Duterte’s murderous war on drugs, Trump is now morally complicit in future killings,” John Sifton of Human Rights Watch told the Times. “Although the traits of his personality likely make it impossible, Trump should be ashamed of himself.”
The White House issued a statement on Saturday describing the phone call between Trump and Duterte as "a very friendly conversation, in which the two leaders discussed the concerns of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regarding regional security, including the threat posed by North Korea."
Administration officials said the call to Duterte was one of several Trump made to regional leaders to reassure them that their interests were also being taken into account despite the U.S. focus on North Korean tensions, China and Japan.
NPR reported that Trump’s invitation to Duterte appears to fit a pattern of admiration for strongmen, pointing out, for example, his recent congratulatory call to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a vote that gave him increased powers and his meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who had not been invited to the White House since coming to power in a military coup nearly four years ago.
The Times reported that it is unclear if Duterte would even be given a visa to the United States were he not a head of state due to the allegations of human rights violations against him.
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