DUTERTE IS NOT TRUMP
Elections on May 9 in the Philippines and December elections in the USA have been a show of nastiness dominated by 2 male candidates:
Donald Trump in USA and Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines.
Some people see parallel characters in both presidential candidates, based on their election strategies of using unapologetic, brush statements that show up on front pages and high in search rankings.
In my personal opinion, this is not enough to label Davao City Mayor, known for his harsh language, lack of education and brutal attitudes towards criminals in his constituency, including threats of death to drug lords and drug pushers.
Donald Trump, in contrast, is well educated, articulate billionaire playing in the Premier League of politics and not in provincial Philippines, known for shootings and vote buying during national elections.
What the candidates have in common, however, are
- the use social media
- using supporters who are proactive in the act of bullying opposition
- denouncing foreign influence
- pledging total support for Police, Army and other gov paid employees
- offensive, simple language
- disregard for specifics and details in proposals
- “cashing in” on personal brand, developed prior to the elections
- effectively portrayed himself as a can-do champion
Both candidates have been labeled “loudmouths ” and been poked fun of on major media channels, depending on which part of oppostition runs them.
Both lead in the polls, from the early stages and use if not profanities, outright denigrating language towards comepition or even supportters of other parties. “Despite rape jokes, profanity-laced speeches and a complete lack of national government experience”
Different worlds …
Duterte, former state prosecutor, and his tough-on-crime position is so tough that he has been accused of running death squads in the southern city of Davao, where he has been mayor for over 20 years. The squads are thought to be a kind of vigilante group that takes justice into its own hands and has killed more than 1,000 people, according to Human Rights Watch.
Trump is a business man with global portfolio.
They might use similar methods, however there is enough to differentiate contexts of both running presidential candidates.
Hopefully, the method is seasonal and will evolve in future contests and wont be replicated to often. Chances are , as of today — May 6th — that both candidates will be elected. Real life test will begin, and it is hard to picture both would-be presidents having similar stance on China, trade and drug lords.
