Trump and Duterte

Trump invites Philippines’ Duterte to the White House Philippines President Duterte may turn down Trump's invite - BBC News

They are going to enjoy a “just-between-us” talk in the White House.

“Mr Trump is no stranger to controversial comments either, including labelling Mexican immigrants as ‘rapists’ and making derogatory statements about women.”

“The president - who, like Mr Trump, was elected last year - has also said he would be happy to kill the country’s millions of drug addicts.”
(Ibid.)

I wonder what kind of root cause is hidden there. The gap between the rich and the poor in the country?

“Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is known for saying things that many would consider unsayable.
But his outspoken style and crime-fighting record have made him popular with many Filipinos.”–BBC
‪BBC News - Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte in quotes http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36251094‬

“[W]hen the Nazis seized power in 1933, ‘seductive poisons’ were immediately outlawed. In the years that followed, drug users would be deemed ‘criminally insane’; some would be killed by the state using a lethal injection; others would be sent to concentration camps. Drug use also began to be associated with Jews. The Nazi party’s office of racial purity claimed that the Jewish character was essentially drug-dependent. Both needed to be eradicated from Germany.”

High Hitler: how Nazi drug abuse steered the course of history High Hitler: how Nazi drug abuse steered the course of history | History books | The Guardian

“The story Ohler [German writer Norman Ohler] tells begins in the days of the Weimar Republic, when Germany’s pharmaceutical industry was thriving – the country was a leading exporter both of opiates, such as morphine, and of cocaine – and drugs were available on every street corner. It was during this period that Hitler’s inner circle established an image of him as an unassailable figure who was willing to work tirelessly on behalf of his country, and who would permit no toxins – not even coffee – to enter his body.”
(Ibid.)

During the campaign trial, It seemed like Trump’s approach to drugs was closing the borders, getting rid of the drug dealers and letting the states decide by themselves if opioids would be legalized or not. He is so unpredictable that it’s hard to tell something. Many times he sounded like a liberal (apart from the extreme talk), but now I think that he’s gonna stick to the conservative schedule.

“You know that Donald Trump doesn’t drink — does not touch alcohol. Which is oddly respectable. But think about that. That means every statement, every interview, every tweet — completely sober.”

Hasan Minhaj’s Trump-bashing comedy routine at the White House correspondents’ dinner, annotated http://wapo.st/2oUSuqP?tid=ss_tw

Looks like Trump is following Abe’s example of what a real leader looks like.

Japan’s Abe vows to help Duterte in war on drugs
http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/12/17/japans-abe-vows-to-help-duterte-in-war-on-drugs

“Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday said Tokyo will support the Philippines in ending the drug menace, even as President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody campaign has earned him condemnation from various governments and international bodies.”

Abe’s Soft Power Play Wins Him Breakfast in Duterte’s Home
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-01-13/abe-s-soft-power-play-wins-him-breakfast-in-duterte-s-davao-home

““Abe is using an exquisite combination of subtle and personal diplomacy, pro-actively reaching out to Duterte who has maintained very close ties with Japan while recalibrating relations with America and China,” said Philippine-based political analyst Richard Javad Heydarian. “Abe will likely try to convince Duterte to be wary of China and restore ties with America” under Donald Trump.”"

The meeting might have never happened without the help of Abe.

Walter Russell Mead with the contrary view on meeting with leaders such as Duterte Trump Comes Under Fire For Duterte Invite - The American Interest
Duerte also currently holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN.

Informative article, it’s good to see the same subject from different viewpoints. I don’t think that it’s mere sympathy for authoritarianism by the POTUS either. Some people think very highly of themselves like the moral squad. If you don’t agree with them, you’re in trouble.

I am not a fan of Shinzo Abe and his wife.
Shinzo Abe’ s maternal grandfather was Nobusuke Kishi, who was prime minister when I was an elementary school student. (Eisaku Sato was Nobusuke Kishi’s brother.)

“After World War II, Kishi was imprisoned for three years as a Class A war crime suspect. However, the U.S. government released him as they considered Kishi to be the best man to lead a post-war Japan in a pro-American direction. As such, he has been called ‘America’s Favorite War Criminal.’”

I got the impression at the time that he was up for letting the states decide by themselves if cannabis (marijuana) would be legalised or not, but that he was still in favour of full criminalisation for opioids. But I might have been misinformed.

In any case, I think there are still basically zero states where legalisation of opioids would be politically feasible at the moment.

I think that you’re not misinformed, he wasn’t clear about it as ever.