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Shooting from the Hip: Motormouth Presidents Trump and Duterte Meet Today

Manila: Donald Trump and Rodrigo Duterte meet Monday in Manila for their first official talks, an occasion that brings together two of the most outspoken statesmen of recent years.

US President and former reality TV star Trump has revelled in his ability to shock establishment America, and enjoys a reputation among supporters for straight talking.

In tweets, press conferences and at campaign-style rallies, the 71-year-old has blasted “political correctness” in favour of voicing opinions popular with his base — but anathema to his liberal foes.

His Philippine counterpart, who is 72, built his electoral success on crowd-pleasing pledges to rid the country of drugs and crime by killing tens of thousands of people.

Here are some notable quotes from two populist presidents whose insurgent rule has shaken their countries.

On violence

“If they are there in your neighbourhood, feel free to call us, the police or do it yourself if you have the gun. You have my support. If he fights and fights to the death, you can kill him. I will give you a medal.” — Duterte on how ordinary Filipinos should deal with suspected criminals.

“There may be somebody with tomatoes in the audience. If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell… I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees.” — Trump on how supporters should deal with troublemakers at a campaign rally in February 2016.

On the media

“The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!” Trump tweeted, a month after being sworn in as president.

“Just because you are a journalist, you are not exempted from assassination if you are a son of a bitch.” — Duterte arguing that many of the journalists killed in the Philippines, one of the most dangerous nations in the world for media workers, are corrupt.

On women

“They raped all of the women… there was this Australian lay minister… when they took them out… I saw her face and I thought, ‘Son of a bitch. What a pity…’ They raped her, they all lined up,” Duterte told a rally about a prison riot during his time as mayor of Davao. “I was mad she was raped but she was so beautiful. I thought, the mayor should have been first,” he added.

“I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married,” Trump told a TV host in 2005 comments that were caught on a hot mic. “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful. I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”

On immunity

“I have the most loyal people. I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters, okay?” — Trump on the campaign trail explaining how some of the electorate would stick with him no matter what.

“Pardon given to Rodrigo Duterte for the crime of multiple murder, signed Rodrigo Duterte.” — Duterte on the campaign trail tells a crowd of businessmen his plans if there are attempts to bring him to justice for deaths in his drug war.

Source: News18