RantCrush Top 5: May 1, 2017

President Donald Trump has invited Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to the White House–a move that has stunned human rights advocates. Now the administration is preparing for an expected wave of criticism and both the State Department and the National Security Council will likely raise objections internally. The administration described Trump’s phone call with the Filipino leader as a “very friendly conversation.” But Duterte is a controversial figure. He has led a crackdown on suspected drug criminals by allowing police to kill them. He has also admitted to killing suspects himself and called President Obama a “son of a whore.”

Trump White House praises Duterte’s drug-fighting efforts while neglecting minor matter of thousands of executions. https://t.co/XKDyilIeib pic.twitter.com/nFju5oiOo1

— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) May 1, 2017

“By essentially endorsing Duterte’s murderous war on drugs, Trump is now morally complicit in future killings,” said John Sifton, the Asia advocacy director of Human Rights Watch. Trump’s chief of staff Reince Priebus said that cultivating a better relationship with Southeast Asian nations is important, because it will help the U.S. deal with North Korea.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.