Obama cancels meeting after Philippines’ president lashes out
‘Words matter,’ a State Department spokesperson said. The Filipino leader’s PR team expressed regret in the wake of the comments.
In the case of Philippines’ president, Rodrigo Duterte that insult led to the White House cancelling scheduled bilateral meetings.
Duterte has become a controversial figure be cause of his incredibly tough stance on drug offenders. Some reports claim that his regime has killed more than 2,400 drug offenders since he took office earlier this summer.
The Filipino president also has a history with making remarks that incite criticism, such as a rape joke he told during his presidential campaign .
Duterte told a crowd that if Obama questioned his policy, he would curse at the U.S. president:
“Who does he think he is? I am no American puppet. I am the president of a sovereign country and I am not answerable to anyone except the Filipino people,” Duterte said. “Son of a b**ch, I will swear at you.”
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