UPDATED 09/05/16 4:08 p.m. ET:
Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte put his frustrations with Barack Obama on full display during a press conference Monday, calling Obama the "son of a whore." Duterte also warned the U.S. that Obama should remain "respectful" of the region's controversial drug war policies during their planned meeting Tuesday. According to the Guardian, Obama actually doesn't mark the first world leader Duterte has referred to as the "son of a whore."
"You must be respectful," Duterte said when asked about plans to discuss recent extrajudicial killings during the meeting. "Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum. We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me."
An update of official figures published over the weekend show that Duterte's war on drugs has now resulted in as many as 2,400 deaths in just 2 months, the Guardianreports. Duterte, however, has repeatedly brushed off criticisms from the U.N. and elsewhere. Previously, Duterte called U.S. ambassador Philip Goldberg a "gay son of a whore."
During a separate press conference Monday, Obama responded to Duterte's comments and asserted his belief that meetings of this nature should always be productive, even when it's controversial. "I have seen some of those colorful statements in the past," Obama said. "So clearly he's a colorful guy. What I've instructed my team to do is talk to their Philippine counterparts to find out if this is in fact a time where we can have some constructive, productive conversations."
Later Monday afternoon, Obama announced his decision to cancel the meeting following his comments:
Upon taking office in June, Duterte immediately made headlines with his controversial call for citizens to "go ahead and kill" drug addicts themselves. According to the Guardian, Duterte's campaign included the promise of as many as 100,000 deaths during his drug war.
