A leaked transcript of the phone call Pres. Trump made to Pres. Duterte has reached the Internet. But surprisingly, that’s not the biggest security breach made. During the phone call, Trump told our president that there are two US nuclear submarines located near the Korean peninsula. I hate to be the one manning those subs right now. How would you feel if your own Commander-in-Chief blew your cover?
The two continued to reassure each other that they can handle North Korea, going on to call its leader a madman. Which is mature (not) language from the heads of state. The “phone calls” between Trump and Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin on Conan O’Brien’s show pale in comparison to this.
Trump also congratulated Duterte on the war on drugs, “I just want to congratulate you because I am hearing that you are doing an unbelievable job on the drug problem.” Yes, unbelievable that 9,000 people are so carelessly killed without regard to human rights.
The Department of Foreign Affairs, whose official memorandum appears in the copy of the transcript, refused to confirm nor deny the veracity of the transcript. They did affirm the value of secrecy, however. “While we value the need for transparency and the people’s right to information, release of certain pieces of information, whether accurate or inaccurate, can affect national security and regional peace and stability. As such, we appeal to the sense of responsibility and patriotism of all concerned,” said the DFA to Inquirer.net.
The Huffington Post verifies with US officials that the transcript is the real deal. It also affirms Trump’s plans to visit the Philippines in November.
[The Huffington Post]
Photo courtesy of Slate
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