Why hello, Captain Obvious.
United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is currently in the Philippines for a two-day visit that started yesterday and based on a story Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo shared today, there’s a reason for him to feel right at home.
Apparently, Pompeo likened Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to the U.S.’ own head of state Donald Trump during a meeting yesterday.
Duterte met with Pompeo at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City last night to discuss the two nations’ cooperation on bilateral and regional security issues, the Presidential Communications Operations Office said in a statement released today.
While not much is known about what exactly the two talk about, Panelo did share some details in a press briefing today. This includes an anecdote about how Pompeo compared Duterte to Trump, something they apparently all thought was funny.
“I remember when the President [Duterte] was talking about what he is doing for this country, even the controversies he’s facing and his cursing, the secretary of the state (Pompeo) said ‘You’re just like our president!’ We laughed,” Panelo said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Of course, people have been saying this since both presidents came into power in 2016. Trump has been called the “American Duterte” while Duterte has been called the “Filipino Trump.”
And the two seem to get along too.
Trump and Duterte really hit it off, during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)’s 50th anniversary in Manila in November 2017, said former Communications Secretary Martin Andanar.
Even former Philippine Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in 2017 that Duterte and Trump are alike in terms of thinking, language, and demeanor.
Of course, their similarities aren’t as amusing to their critics.
With Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan which has become a potent symbol of racism and Duterte’s ruthless anti-drug campaign that has killed thousands of people, both have been controversial leaders, to say the least.
Both Duterte and Trump have also come under fire for being misogynistic.
Duterte was criticized during his campaign when he said that “he should have been first” in the raping of an Australian missionary in Davao City back in 1989. He also got backlash when he kissed a married Overseas Filipino worker in South Korea last year.
Trump, on the other hand, has been accused by several women of groping as well as making inappropriate remarks. There’s also that infamous “Grab ’em by the pussy” recording from 2005 that surfaced before the U.S. presidential elections in 2016.
Trump has invited Duterte to visit the U.S. but Panelo said in the press briefing today that “there was no definite acceptance of the invitation.”
However, he was quick to say that’s only because Duterte can’t handle the weather in the U.S. at the moment.
“The problem with the president he cannot stand the temperature in the US. It’s too cold. He’ll have a hard time and it’s too far away. He doesn’t like long haul [trips],” Panelo said.
“But of course, he’s very fond of the president (Trump).”
