Looks like it’s time to check President Barack Obama’s medical records — because he seems to have had his spine surgically removed.
In his latest show of weakness, Obama met with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte informally on Wednesday before attending a gala dinner at a regional summit, Philippine officials said.
That’s the same Duterte who called Obama a “son of a bitch” just days ago.
The brief meeting was designed to take a little sting out of the soured relations caused by Duterte’s intemperate language in referring to Obama earlier this week. That had caused Obama to cancel a formal meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
There was no immediate confirmation from the White House.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Pefecto Yasay told The Associated Press that the leaders had met.
“They met at the holding room and they were the last persons to leave the holding room. I can’t say how long they met. It all springs from the fact the relationship between the Philippines and the United States is firm, very strong. The basis for this relationship is historical and both leaders realize this. And I’m very happy that it happened.”
Obama and Duterte are in the Laotian capital along with other regional leaders for a summit. All of them made their way through the holding room before heading to the banquet hall.
On Monday, hours before arriving in Laos, Duterte told Philippine reporters he wouldn’t accept questions from Obama about extrajudicial killings that have occurred during his crackdown on suspected drug dealers and users. More than 2,000 people have been killed in the crackdown since he took office on June 30.
“I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody. You must be respectful. Do not just throw questions. Putang ina, I will swear at you in that forum,” Duterte said, using the Tagalog phrase for “son of a bitch.”
On Tuesday, Duterte expressed regret over the remarks, but they were another foreign relations disaster for Obama.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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