Rodrigo Duterte, Donald Trump-- Separated At Birth?

I've been saying for some time now that to grasp what a Trumpanzee presidency would be like it's important to just go beyond Mussolini, Hitler and even Putin. I've suggested looking at how quickly Turkish autocrat Recep Tayyip Erdoğan moved to consolidate power in the aftermath of a half-assed coup attempt-- seizing control of the media, the judiciary, the army and any other institution that could be the source of dissent. Over 60,000 people have been detained or suspended from military units (including 40% of the country's generals), the judiciary, universities, newspapers and the civil service. Erdoğan has cowed the political opposition parties completely and has threatened, repeatedly, to reinstate the death penalty-- retroactively. The coup against Erdoğan failed-- if there even was a real coup-- but the coup by Erdoğan has been stunning success.

Erdoğan seems to have the sense to detest Bay Trumpanzee and recognize him for the parody he is. Now, the new President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte (AKA, Digong), a crude, primitive fascist... he's even more like Trump than Erdoğan. Yesterday many Americans heard of him for the first time when he called President Obama "the son of a whore" and Obama canceled a meeting with him scheduled for today.

Before winning the presidency in a May 27, he had been the mayor of Davao City for 22 years. In the 6 way race, he drew just 39% of the vote, far from a majority, but no other candidate was close:

• Rodrigo Duterte- 16,601,997
• Mar Roxas- 9,978,175
• Grace Poe- 9,100,991
• Jejomar Binay- 5,416,140
• Miriam Defesnsor-Santiago- 1,455,532
• Roy Seneres- 25,779

He was a controversial populist mayor, linked with a vigilante mob, the Davao Death Squad that was known for murdering suspected criminals, particularly drug dealers. Earlier in life he was expelled from school a couple of times and shot a fellow student in law school. More recently, he has been criticized by Amnesty International, the UN's Human Rights Council, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, and Human Rights Watch for his role in extrajudicial murders of suspected criminals. In 1994, the Manila Times published an editorial warning the Filipinos about Mayor Duterte, deploring "the mentality of lawlessness and vigilantism" which encourages private warlords and businessmen vigilantes to kill persons they believe have done them wrong, including journalists exposing corruption and human rights activists exposing abusive police and military men. They pointed out that his death squads had summarily executed hundreds of petty criminals, including children.

Much like Trump, when there were complaints about how he behaves-- a serial philanderer like Trump, he's a sexist pig and woman hater who's condoned rape; he also cursed Pope Francis a couple years ago-- he vowed to act presidential if he's elected. He said he would become "prim and proper... almost, I would become holy." Sounds like they have the same source of narcissistic inspiration. That was before called Obama a son of a whore and a son of bitch over the weekend and before he had cursed out the U.S. ambassador out and called him a "faggot" earlier this month. And before he threatened to quit the UN and start his own version.

Time Magazine has covered Duterte more rigorously than most U.S. publications and they reported that the death total from vigilantism since he was inaugurated has climbed to over 2,400. It doesn't seem like a safe country to visit, although the State Department hasn't issued a travel warning yet.

Figures released by the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Sunday showed that 1,011 alleged drug users and dealers have been killed in police operations since Duterte began his six-year term on July 1, Agence France-Presse reports. A far higher number-- 1,391-- has been chalked up to “deaths under investigation,” most of them believed to have been killed by vigilantes.

The 71-year-old was elected by a landslide in early May on a campaign promise to rid the Southeast Asian nation of crime, particularly the drug trade. He has exhorted his citizens to “kill drug dealers” themselves and told police that he will support them wholeheartedly in doing so as well.

The results of his invective have been shocking, with an average of around 37 people per day killed in extrajudicial fashion. Representatives from the United Nations as well as international human rights groups have condemned the rampant slaughter, to which Duterte’s response has been dismissive.

“I don’t care about human rights, believe me,” he said in early August.

"Believe me." Know any other psychopath who ends his sentences that way? Duterte has threatened to impose martial law if anyone tries interfering with his anti-drug campaign. Of course, it can't happen here because... because... because... Oh, it just can't.