President Rodrigo Duterte is running a government fueled by murders that provide excitement for his supporters and fear for his opponents; a murder state where the pretense of democracy is drowned in blood.
According to police statistics, more than 4,000 people have been killed by the police in antidrug operations or by vigilantes in drug-related cases since Mr. Duterte became president. Mr. Sabio’s complaint puts that number at more than 8,000.
So, naturally, Donald Trump gave him a call. But his outreach to a mass murderer was so friendly that it surprised even the members of Trump’s own regime.
When President Trump called President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines on Saturday, White House officials saw it as part of a routine diplomatic outreach to Southeast Asian leaders. Mr. Trump, characteristically, had his own ideas.
During their “very friendly conversation,” the administration said in a late-night statement, Mr. Trump invited Mr. Duterte, an authoritarian leader accused of ordering extrajudicial killings of drug suspects in the Philippines, to visit him at the White House.
Trump claims that his invite went out to Duterte because he needs support in the conflict with North Korea, an idea that seems more than a little ludicrous. But considering that Trump’s rally over the weekend included chants of “lock her up” and an a “deeply disturbing” speech, there’s another reason for bringing in Duterte.
Trump could be looking for tips.
When it comes to holding onto a pretense of democracy while running a blood-soaked autocratic state in which opponents shake in fear, Duterte is at the top of the game. His “drug squads” have targeted people who dare to speak against Dutert’s policies, he has subverted federal and local police forces to carry out a platform of harassment and simple murder, and even the most visible opponents are far from safe.
While Duterte claims all the victims were drug dealers, the thousands of vigilante murders include opponents of Duterte and the case against the Phillipines’ president includes charges of planting evidence, paid assassins, and turning police into death squads. Duterte’s party has enough power in the congress to stop any investigation, and a simple solution to any official or politician causing too much trouble—accuse them of drug crimes and make them next on the list.
There have been few investigations by the police of killings by police officers, who stand to be pardoned if convicted. An investigation in the Philippine Senate was derailed by Mr. Duterte’s allies in Congress, and the senator leading it jailed on drug charges she says were intended to silence her. The Philippines Human Rights Commission conducted an investigation in 2009 of the killings in Davao, but no prosecution resulted.
The most likely reason Donald Trump would invite Rodrigo Duterte to the White House? Duterte once famously told Barack Obama to “go to hell” for pointing out Duterte’s reign of terror. For Trump, an insult to President Obama is more important than any number of deaths.
On the other hand …
The White House disclosed the news on a day when Mr. Trump fired up his supporters at a campaign-style rally in Harrisburg, Pa. The timing of the announcement — after a speech that was a grievance-filled jeremiad — encapsulated this president after 100 days in office: still ready to say and do things that leave people, even on his staff, slack-jawed.
Maybe Trump just wants a chance to talk strategy.
In a summary of Saturday’s phone call between the two leaders, the White House said the two discussed “the fact that the Philippine government is fighting very hard to rid its country of drugs, a scourge that affects many countries throughout the world.” The White House statement included no criticism of Duterte’s methods.