Report: Trump Praised Duterte in Phone Call

According to a transcript obtained by The Washington Post, President Donald Trump offered praise for Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte in a phone call last month. He reportedly said Duterte was doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem.” Since Duterte has taken office, he has overseen an extrajudicial campaign that is reported to involve killing tens of thousands of suspected drug dealers in the country. “Many countries have the problem, we have the problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that,” Trump said, according to the transcript. A senior administration official told the Post that Trump was not condoning “individual tactics,” but rather making an effort to express “solidarity over a common scourge.”