Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (left) and US President-elect Donald Trump. AFP PHOTOS
President Rodrigo Duterte disclosed early Saturday that he had been rooting for Donald Trump all along in the recently-concluded election in the United States.
Mr. Duterte, dubbed the “Trump of the east,” said he likes the way his western counterpart speaks.
Trump defeated Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton in the hotly contested US presidential election in November.
“Actually, in the liking of my character it was really Trump all along. And you can ask them. Because I like his mouth,” he said in a Davao press briefing when asked who had been his bet in the US elections.
He recalled Trump telling him that they “talk in the same language.”
“He said so. We talk in the same language and I like your mouth, it’s like mine. I said, ‘Yes, Mr. President. We’re similar,’” he narrated.
“People with the same feathers flock together,” he added.
Mr. Duterte and Trump recently spoke on the phone.
READ: Strained’ PH-US ties seen to improve after Duterte-Trump talk
The President earlier played coy when asked who he was rooting for between Trump and Clinton, instead saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin was his “favorite hero.”
He had said then that while he would have liked to answer the question, it could create hostility if he does so.
Mr. Duterte had often been compared to the American President-elect as both have been known for their outrageous statements and fiery rhetoric. TVJ
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