Tapper on Trump/Duterte: Remember When Presidents Didn’t Laugh About Freedom of the Press?

Tapper on Trump/Duterte: Remember When Presidents Didn’t Laugh About Freedom of the Press? (Mediaite)

On the final leg of his nearly two-week Asia tour, President Donald Trump met with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. Prior to a meeting between the two men, Duterte referred to the members of the media that were present as “spies,” causing Trump to burst out into laughter. After Trump thanked Duterte for the way he had “treated all of us,” the Filipino leader asked the press to “leave us alone.”

On this afternoon’s broadcast of The Lead, CNN anchor Jake Tappertook issue with Trump’s cavalier attitude towards Duterte’s remarks, especially considering how Duterte has justified the killing of reporters in the past.

“That’s the guy who made President Trump chuckle when he called US journalists spies,” Tapper noted after highlighting Duterte’s terrible human rights record.