Reporters shouted questions at Trump and his pal, Philippine strongman Rodrigo Duterte, as they posed for photos. Duterte took the opportunity to call the media assembled "all spies."
Duterte, "Whoa, whoa. This is not a press statement. This is the bilateral meeting.'
"We will be discussing matters that are of interest to both the Philippines and ... with you around, guys, you are the spies," Duterte said.
Trump, "Hah, hah, hah,"
Duterte replied, "You are."
Trump refuses to confront any strongman leader to their face, and when it comes to journalists, Duerte . is one of the worst:
It's also worth noting that the Philippines is one of the most dangerous countries in the world in which to be a journalist. Since 1992, 78 journalists have been killed in the Philippines, the third highest total in the world -- behind only Iraq (186) and Syria (114), according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Trump, however, laughed along with President Duterte and went to dinner.
Trump hates much of the press, but Duterte's comments are incredibly ominous and dangerous because of the mass murder committed in his country at his behest.
In 2016, as President-elect, Duterte warned reporters that they too could be targeted for assassination.
Duterte was asked during a press conference Tuesday how he would address the country’s high murder rate for journalists, reports Agence France-Presse. “Just because you’re a journalist you are not exempted from assassination if you’re a son of a bitch,” he replied.
And Duterte is playing Trump for a stooge when they reported "there was no mention at all of human rights or extrajudicial killings during their conversation."
Meanwhile, when asked the same question, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said this about their 40-minute meeting, “The conversation focused on ISIS, illegal drugs and trade. Human rights briefly came up in the context of the Philippines’s fight against illegal drugs,” Sanders said, according to a reporter traveling in Asia with Trump."
What Phillipines' "fight against illegal drugs" means in the real world is death squads.
We have a wannabe dictator in the White House.
