Trump rekindles ties with controversial Philippine president

President Donald Trump raised the eyebrows of human rights advocates by inviting Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to visit the White House during a phone call late Saturday. Trump called several of the United States’ allies in Asia over the weekend to discuss North Korea’s nuclear threats and missile tests. Relations between the Philippines and the United States suffered at the end of the Obama administration when Duterte rebuffed the former president’s criticism of his stiff anti-drug crackdown. Thousands have died in extrajudicial killings during the drug war. Duterte has softened toward the United States since Trump took office, but has not yet accepted the White House invitation because of scheduled trips to Russia, Israel, and other countries. Trump’s chief of staff, Reince Priebus defended the call, saying closer relations with the Philippines were necessary in light of the North Korea threat. “The purpose of this call is all about North Korea,” Priebus told ABC’s This Week on Sunday. “It doesn’t mean that human rights don’t matter.”