Coming into office, President Donald Trump declined to fully detach himself from his many businesses, and the ramifications of that choice on his part are still coming to light as his presidency goes on. One of the properties owned by his business is the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., itself and it’s now come out that the Filipino government will be hosting a celebration there this June marking the 120th anniversary of the country’s independence.
Reporter with The Washington Post David Farenthold is among the members of the press to have confirmed this development.
I just confirmed this w/the Philippine Embassy: the embassy will hold its June 12 Independence Day party at…@realdonaldtrump‘s hotel. That comes after Trump has praised Duterte, and vice versa. https://t.co/eaeFYpiDd4
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) April 19, 2018
This revelation is not innocuous by any means. On a business and ethics level, it means that yet again, a foreign government interest is using the president’s businesses in a way that suggests they’re interested in getting on his good side. At present, The Philippines is pursuing a new trade deal with the United States, which the president has said that he is open to, and what better way is there for the government of that nation to prove to Trump that they have meaningful business to offer the United States than by staying in one of his hotels?
On another level, the Filipino government partnering with the Trump Organization via hosting an event in one of the president’s hotels is concerning because of who exactly leads that government.
The Philippines is currently led by the murderous dictator Rodrigo Duterte who, as the country’s president, has pursued a violent anti-drug policy that has seen his government implement extrajudicial killings for suspected drug dealers.
That might sound familiar because it was just recently that President Trump announced his own plans to execute drug dealers, although as one small improvement, he wants the executions to be implemented as a part of judicial policy.
He has spoken highly of Duterte in the past to the point of having invited him to visit the White House, although the dictatorial leader has not taken him up on that offer yet.
Last spring, though, the president had what was described by the White House as a “very friendly conversation with Mr. Duterte” over the phone. A spokesperson for Duterte offered his own statement accompanying that from the White House, saying that the U.S. president had relayed “understanding and appreciation of the challenges facing the Philippine president, especially on the matter” of the drug war during their phone conversations.
It goes without saying that there is no real appropriate place for Trump to implement Duterte-style policies in the United States, and yet his administration has pushed such plans as a way to combat the opioid epidemic anyway. Plenty of people involved with drugs get swept up into dealing; is Trump’s plan to just kill them all?
The announcement, then, of the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines planning to hold a Filipino independence celebration at Trump’s D.C. hotel is a one-two punch in the face of established ways of the United States dealing with the world. It’s hardly the first punch, though, from the Trump administration. Other similar instances include the massive payout of money from the Saudi government to this same hotel back in late 2016 and early 2017.
Featured Image via OLIVIER DOULIERY/ AFP/ Getty Images
