Trump
Praised Duterte's Drug War, Told Him of Nuclear Subs, in Phone Call
Rodrigo Duterte anti-drug war features street murders of suspected drug dealers and users. |
"You are a good
man," Trump told Duterte in the April 29 call, which was highly controversial when placed.
"Keep up the good work. You are doing an amazing job."
"I just wanted to
congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug
problem," Trump said. "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."
"Thank you Mr.
President," Duterte replied. "This is the scourge of my nation now
and I have to do something to preserve the Filipino nation."
Trump called the
Philippines strongman—whose regime has killed thousands of people since he took
office last June, and who previously bragged about killing suspected criminals while
serving as mayor of Davao city—to invite him to visit the White House, which
Trump's chief of staff Reince Priebus later defended as a sign of international
cooperation on addressing issues with North Korea.
That apparently
included the U.S. president informing Duterte that there were two American
submarines off the Korean peninsula.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in the conning tower of NK's flagship submarine. |
"We can't let a
madman with nuclear weapons let on the loose like that," Trump told
Duterte, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. "We have a lot of
firepower, more than he has times 20, but we don't want to use it."
"We have a lot of
firepower over there. We have two submarines—the best in the world—we have two
nuclear submarines—not that we want to use them at all," he continued.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The disposition and locations of US submarines is one of the country's most closely guarded secrets. Why would Donald Trump throw this out there to Duterte? What possible need to know does Duterte have? - W. Collette
The transcript was reportedly produced by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs and its authenticity confirmed by "well-placed sources" at the department and the Palace, said the Manila-based news outlet Rappler, which collaborated with The Intercept to publish it.
The transcript was reportedly produced by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs and its authenticity confirmed by "well-placed sources" at the department and the Palace, said the Manila-based news outlet Rappler, which collaborated with The Intercept to publish it.
It comes just as
Duterte separately declared martial law on the island of
Mindanao, in the southern part of the Philippines, where government forces are
in conflict with rebels.
He warned that he may
expand military control throughout the nation.
"If I had to kill
thousands of people just to keep Philippines a thousand times safer, I will not
have doubts doing it," he said.
Duterte's relationship with Trump is much warmer than
with former President Barack Obama, whom the Philippines leader called a
"son of a whore" for criticizing his murderous regime.
During their phone
call, Trump appeared to remind Duterte that he supported his position on the
drug war.
"I understand
that, and fully understand that," he said in the transcript, "and I
think we had a previous president who did not understand that, but I understand
that and we have spoken about this before."