White House spokesman Josh Earnest joked Friday that the Filipino official who has to quell outrage over President Rodrigo Duterte’s outlandish remarks against the U.S. is the “Filipino Mike Pence.”
When asked if he was aware that Duterte’s office was trying to walk back their leader’s latest comments, Earnest said: “I do. I’ve dubbed that person the Filipino Mike Pence.”
Earnest said he did so because Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, as Donald Trump’s running mate, often ends up with the job of taking back Trump’s harshest statements.
Numerous senior Filipino officials “have tried to walk back certain things President Duterte has said,” Earnest said. “And I think … that Gov. Pence got himself into a similar position a couple of weeks ago.”
Earnest said a senior State Department official, who was already scheduled to visit the Philippines, will now meet with his Filipino counterparts to learn what exactly Duterte means when he talks about separating his country from its ally, the U.S., and joining up with China and Russia.
“[W]hen you’re the leader of a nation that has a seven-decade long alliance with the United States, there comes with it a set of important responsibilities, including understanding the consequences for your public statements,” Earnest said. He said Washington has seen “too many troubling” comments from the recently installed Duterte.
“And the frequency of that rhetoric has added an element of unnecessary uncertainty into our relationship that doesn’t advance the interests of either country,” Earnest said.
