The 'Donald Trump' of the Philippine Presidential Race Wraps Up the Rapist Vote

The mayor of Davao City in the Philippines is running for president and may have been watching the progress of Donald Trump’s campaign in order to pick up some pointers on how to be rude, crude, and incredibly offensive.

Referring to a gang rape of an Australian woman by inmates at the local jail who had taken several people hostage, Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte turned absolutely wistful when commenting on the attack:

I was angry because she was raped, that’s one thing. But she was so beautiful, the mayor should have been first. What a waste.

“The mayor” to which he is referring is himself, who has racked up some colorful nicknames during the campaign, including “the Punisher” and “Duterte Harry.”

Here’s a video and translation:

All the women were raped so during the first assault, because they retreated, the bodies they used as a cover, one of them was the corpse of the Australian woman layminister. Tsk, this is a problem. When the bodies were brought out, they were wrapped. I looked at her face, son of a bitch, she looks like a beautiful American actress. Son of a bitch, what a waste. What came to mind was, they raped her, they lined up. I was angry because she was raped, that’s one thing. But she was so beautiful, the mayor should have been first. What a waste.

Washington Post:

In a Facebook post Monday, the Australian Embassy in the Philippines wrote, “Rape and murder should never be joked about or trivialised. Violence against women and girls is unacceptable anytime, anywhere.”

The Australians were not the only ones with strong words for Duterte.

In response, one of the opposing presidential candidates in the May 9 election, Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, said, “Anyone who laughs at the ultimate assault on the dignity of women should not be allowed to wield power,” CNN Philippines reported.

Sen. Grace Poe, another candidate quoted by CNN Philippines, said: “It is distasteful and unacceptable, and reflects his disrespect for women. No one, whoever she is and whatever her looks may be, deserves to be raped and abused. Rape is a crime and no laughing matter. We should all be outraged at abuses against women.”

Most people think that the candidate was telling a joke. Not according to the candidate:

Though the video shows the crowd laughing when he says this, Duterte denies allegations that it was said in jest. Instead, he admitted to having said it in 1989 and claims he was merely retelling the story at the rally.

“It was not a joke,” he said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “I said it in a narrative. I wasn’t smiling.”

“I said it in the heat of anger,” Duterte said. “I’m sorry in general. I’m sorry to the Filipino people, it’s my style, it’s my mouth, I said it in anger — listen to the story behind it.”

And this tweet could have been sent in the United States about Trump supporters: