Rodrigo Duterte was last in the US media calling President Obama “a son of a bitch,” declaring that he will ignore treaties with the US, and making an alliance with Vladimir Putin to replace weapons the United States won't sell him.
“[The] US has decided to cancel the procurement of weapons. And I said, ‘I have a friend who has plenty'.”
While lavishing praise on his friend Putin and promising to ally with both Russia and China against the US, Duterte also loves Trump and is anxious to welcome him into the foul-mouthed dictator club.
"I would like to congratulate President Trump. Long live!" Duterte said to applause on Wednesday. "Now we're here, I don't want to ... fight because Trump is already there." …
"We both like to swear. One little thing, we curse right away, we're the same."
Duterte has also vented on Pope Francis and the press which certainly cements his common ties to Trump. But in addition to bonding over their mutual hatred of the Pope and love for Putin, Trump has something else to learn from Duterte.
The Philippines president has also used his office as president to launch a wave of executions and vigilante street violence that have led to over 4,000 deaths since he took office in June.
The controversial president-elect is accused of sanctioning extra-judicial mass killings of alleged drug traffickers, has suggested journalists who are murdered did something to deserve their fate, has made horrific rape jokes, and is an unrepentant, self-described "womanizer."
Where Trump shouted his way into office blaming all the nation’s ills on immigrants, Duterte selected drug users as his designated scapegoats.
He has personally encouraged Filipinos to kill suspected drug dealers and drug users in public speeches, leading to a wave of violence across the Philippines. Graphic and moving photos of suspected drug dealers gunned down in public have helped to fuel international outrage against the drug war and public criticism of his policies from the Western media and advocacy groups like Amnesty International.
Trump can certainly get some tips there. Duterte doesn’t stop with a puny “lock her up.” He moves straight on to execution, not just of those accused of being a drug dealer, but also of those who dare to speak up against him. Trials are not required, and justice isn’t even in question.
The families of most victims in the drug war have stayed silent for good reason. Philippine media reported the story of one man who had doggedly pursued justice for months for his sister, who had been killed by unidentified gunmen in Manila. The man, who was not under the commission's protection, turned up dead in late October.
Police who can shoot unarmed suspects without recourse, families of suspects killed when they complain, armed followers carrying out executions in the street with the encouragement of the president—Duterte has already turned the Philippines into a model for Trumpland.
One more factor that the two men share: skin thinner than a peach.
"For all his strongman alpha-male image, the President is acutely sensitive when it comes to perceived criticism of his policies — particularly by those he views as arrogant westerners who have no moral high ground from which to make judgement," he says.
Duterte can also teach Trump about the next step after penning up the press.
Speaking at a press conference to unveil his new cabinet Tuesday, Rodrigo Duterte said journalists killed on the job in the Philippines were often corrupt.
"Just because you're a journalist you are not exempted from assassination, if you're a son of a bitch," Duterte said. "Freedom of expression cannot help you if you have done something wrong," he added.
The world is increasingly under the control of men like Trump, Duterte, and Putin … with more such leaders likely on the way. Liberal democracies are in serious trouble.