Trump and the diehard Duterte supporters

MANY people couldn’t care less about the US elections. But for those who do, it is disconcerting that there is a similarity in the narratives between the ultra-conservative right-wing base of support for incumbent President Donald Trump and those espoused by many among the loyal Duterte supporters, the so-called diehard Duterte supporters (DDS).

A substantial part of this similarity is more structural in nature, considering that both Trump and President Rodrigo Duterte are populist leaders and are seen as symbols who spoke against the well-established political institutions. Both are perceived by their bases to be enemies of the liberal mainstream media. And both are supported by a loyal political base that despise liberal mainstream media. Both men are perceived as outsiders, with Trump being a businessman and Duterte a provincial city mayor, who are seen as bearers of the agenda of changing the way politics is practiced or what Trump refers to as “draining the swamp.”