MSNBC: Trump Invites Duterte to the W.H. Amid Human Rights Abuses in the Philippines

GEIST: “Meanwhile, President Trump has invited Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte to the White House. The official readout says the two leaders had a, quote, very friendly phone conversation on Saturday which doesn’t appear to have touched on widespread accusations of human rights abuses against Duterte’s government. They did discuss the North Korean threat and Duterte’s drug crackdown. That crackdown which started after his rise to power last June has led to about 1 million people being arrested and more than 7,000 reported deaths. 'The New York Times' reports the State Department and other officials were caught off-guard by the invitation. The president of the council on foreign relations Richard Haass framed it this way, tweeting 'Even more worrisome than an ill-advised Duterte call/invite, are reports done with little or no formal staff involvement. Duterte, Erdogan calls suggest knowledgeable staff absent/ignored. History shows formal process needed so POTUS has what he needs, not wants.’”