Trump Invites Rodrigo Duterte to the White House -<br />By MARK LANDLERAPRIL 30, 2017<br />WASHINGTON — President Trump on Saturday invited the president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, to the White House, embracing an authoritarian leader who is accused of ordering extrajudicial killings of drug suspects<br />and who crudely disparaged Mr. Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama.<br />A spokesman for Mr. Duterte, Ernesto Abella, confirmed the White House invitation, saying<br />that Mr. Trump had expressed “his understanding and appreciation of the challenges facing the Philippine president, especially on the matter” of drugs.<br />A version of this article appears in print on April 30, 2017, on Page A18 of the<br />New York edition with the headline: Trump Invites Duterte to Visit White House.<br />Mr. Trump had a “very friendly conversation with Mr. Duterte,” according to a statement issued by the White House late Saturday.<br />Mr. Trump’s embrace of the Philippine leader comes a week after Mr. Trump called to congratulate President<br />Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey for his victory in a disputed referendum that cemented his autocratic rule.
