RSVP: MAYBE

Duterte: Sorry, I Can’t Promise WH Visit

Killer Philippines prez may not accept Trump’s invite.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday declined not commit to accepting President Donald Trump’s surprising invitation to visit to the White House. “I cannot make any definite promise,” Duterte said. “I’m supposed to go to Russia. I’m supposed to go to Israel.” The White House raised eyebrows over the weekend when it sent a readout of Trump’s phone call with Duterte, during which Trump praised the notorious authoritarian for his deadly drug crackdown. Under Duterte, who has declared that he has personally killed drug suspects, extrajudicial killings of those purported to be part of the drug trade have topped 10,000, by some estimates. Duterte was once a harsh critic of the U.S. when it was led by Barack Obama—whom he once called the “son of a whore”—but Duterte said Monday “things have changed. There’s a new leadership.”

Play Video