Public Comment

President Trump seems to be obsessively warm and effusive to some of the most brutal dictators in the world. Following his inauguration, he reached out to Vladimir Putin in the hope of warming relations with Russia and perhaps thanking him for the role he played in torpedoing Clinton’s efforts. Earlier this year he invited President el-Sisi of Egypt to the White House. El-Sisi He imprisoned judges, prosecutors, academics and journalists. 

Following Erdogan of Turkey’s election, Trump called to congratulate him ignoring his assault on free speech and imprisonment of tens of thousands of people following last year’s coup. 

Thailand’s leader is another authoritarian leader invited to the White House. The invitation will help fend off domestic opposition in Thailand. Prime Minister Prauth Chan ocha seized power in a military coup three years ago. 

His latest infatuation is with President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, the authoritarian leader guilty of the extrajudicial killing of tens of thousands of suspected drug suspects. During their “very friendly conversation,” Trump invited him to the White House. This was Trump’s latest impulsive gesture which caught members of his National Security Council and State Department off guard. 

Trump praised the dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, as a “smart cookie.” He recently stated that he would be “honored” to meet the North Korean leader.