Some commenters on my blog have taken a bit of offense to my regular criticism of Donald Trump, going so far as to call me a “partisan.” Shocked that after several years of railing against Obama administration policies (not to mention my pro-Second Amendment stance) that all of the sudden I’m now “partisan” for blasting Trump, it was explained to me that while I regularly complained of things that Obama’s agencies did, I rarely called out Obama personally.
I don’t consider myself a member of either political party. The reason for any disparity in naming Trump personally more than Obama is two-fold:
- Obama had a filter and let his administration do their jobs, while Trump is a loud-mouth who puts his personal name on every bad decision his government makes.
- Some of the stuff Trump says, and does, is not just disagreeable, but is flatly ignorant.
For an example of the latter, yesterday, it was reported that in a phone call with the President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, our President said the following: “I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem. … Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that.”
If you’re unfamiliar with the situation in the Philippines at the moment, this may not sound so bad. In that case, allow me to summarize their drug policy: President Duterte has directed his citizens to murder drug dealers and addicts in the street. I mean this literally and with no exaggeration. Some quotes:
- “Go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful.”
- “The funeral parlors will be packed. … I’ll supply the dead bodies.”
- “Hitler massacred three million Jews. Now, there is three million drug addicts. I’d be happy to slaughter them.”
The country’ federal police, at last count, had reported killing 1,959 alleged drug dealers and addicts, and have additionally reported finding the bodies of 3,658 more killed by vigilantes. That is over 5,000 people killed during this man’s term as president without a trial or any due process whatsoever, for a crime as small as possessing a few grams of meth.
But that’s not all. Mr. Duterte admitted that, back when he was only a mayor, he used to personally kill people he thought were criminals in the streets. “And [I would] go around Davao with a motorcycle, with a big bike around and I would just patrol the streets and looking for trouble also. I was really looking for an encounter so I could kill.” In a level of hypocrisy fit for a king, that same article discusses Duterte’s addiction to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid many times more powerful than heroin.
Don’t really feel sympathy for druggies? Fine, here are some other choice quotes:
- On rape: “I was mad she was raped but she was so beautiful. I thought, the mayor should have been first.” (Much like Trump’s response to his “grab her by the pussy” comment, Duterte responded to criticism by saying it is “just how men talk.”)
- On traffic caused by a visit from the Pope: “Pope, son of a whore, go home. Do not visit us again.”
- On Hitler: “At least Germany had Hitler.”
Now, after reading the above, let it sink in that our President said to Duterte, “You are a good man.”
Fuck you, Donald Trump. Mr. Duterte is scum: a self-admitted murderer who does not believe in the rule of law and, quite simply, has respect for no one. This is not a “good man,” and you are ignorant for saying it.
If that makes me a “partisan,” so be it.
Professional Troublemaker ® 
I’ve enjoyed your posts. But the flat out rant today was a little more than I can appreciate. Telling our President **** You, is not what I came here to read.
I wish you all the best with your lawsuits, but I will no longer be following your progress.
Sorry to see you go, but I will not be filtering my thoughts on a person who defends a tyrant like Duterte. Trump made a serious error in judgment during the phone call he had with this man, and he deserves to be called out on it in the strongest of terms. To do otherwise would be… well… partisan.
I’ve seen you call out many administrations, organizations and individuals. You have frequently been educated, persuasive and eloquent in your observations and arguments. Although you layer this with a bit of snark and wit, it is usually tastefully done. Cussing someone out is beneath you. I see these type of crass, base arguments on Facebook and tweeted by the President.
You are an incredibly bright, passionate young man and I know that you are more than capable of setting someone down while maintaining your own dignity and grace.
I appreciate the kind words and I respect that some readers may not want to read strong language and therefore may choose not to continue reading. This post does show a bit of frustration on my part, but at this point, I think many people in this country are very frustrated by some of the things our current President is doing and saying.
It’s also a bit frustrating that the President just praised a murderous tyrant and we’re sitting here discussing my language. Over 5,000 people in the Philippines are dead right now and our President either doesn’t know or thinks that’s ok. If there’s something to take offense to in this post, it should be our President’s ignorance well before my use of the word “fuck.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself.