Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte is no fan of President Obama, repeatedly criticizing him every chance he gets. Well, President-elect Donald J. Trump has taken notice and just gave Obama the worst gift ever, an invitation to the White House! This is genius!
Trump and Duterte spoke on the phone Friday and the newly-elected president reportedly invited his Filipino counterpart to the white house during what an aide called a “very engaging, animated” phone call between the two leaders.
US President-elect Donald Trump invites Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte to ‘visit White House next year’ https://t.co/RYlI4dEtvc #NewslyTweet
— newsly (@newsly) December 2, 2016
Christopher Go, special adviser to President Duterte, revealed that the Filipino president also invited Trump to visit the Philippines for next year’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.
Duterte once called Obama a “son of a whore” and even told him to “go to hell” before announcing his “separation from America” before eventually walking back those comments.
From The Daily Caller:
Duterte made multiple overtures to China and Russia, casting uncertainty over the U.S.-Philippines alliance. Defense ties remain strong; however, the relationship at the presidential level has been unstable, but that may change under Trump. Duterte was among the first world leaders to congratulate Trump after he won the presidential election.
Several retired generals recently urged Duterte to “reset” his foreign policies to allow the U.S. and the Philippines to become “great friends again.” After the election, Duterte said he was done fighting with the U.S. Both Duterte and Trump are strong populist, anti-establishment leaders. “Long live, Mr. Trump!” Duterte said, “I don’t want to quarrel anymore, because Trump has won.”
President Obama has hurt America’s standing in the world, straining numerous relationships with foreign nations. President-elect Donald Trump has made it clear that he wants to restore America’s standing in the world.
Do you think Trump will be able to repair the numerous relationships that Obama has damaged over the years? Share your thoughts with us below!