MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte unleashed a tirade against Chelsea Clinton after the only child of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and losing presidential bet Hillary Clinton criticized the former Davao mayor over his rape joke in a recent speech before soldiers.
“When your father was f**king (Monica) Lewinsky, what was your statement?” an apparently seething Duterte told the younger Clinton in a speech during the 119th founding anniversary of the Philippine Navy at the Sasa Wharf in Davao City.
Chelsea was about 15 or 16 years old when Lewinsky worked as an intern at the White House from 1995 and 1996 during the Clinton administration. Bill Clinton admitted having an “inappropriate affair” with Lewinsky, which led to the 1998 impeachment of the 42nd U.S. president.
Duterte said he was being “sarcastic” when he earlier said that he would take responsibility for the acts of soldiers, who were deployed to Marawi City to fight the Maute group, including rape.
He pointed out that the U.S. had its own share of rape cases committed by its soldiers deployed abroad.
In the Philippines, Duterte was apparently referring to the case of Jennifer Laude, who was killed in 2014 by US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton, who was convicted of homicide by an Olongapo City Regional Trial Court in 2015.
In April, the Court of Appeals affirmed the Olongapo court’s ruling against Pemberton.
The younger Clinton earlier lambasted Duterte through Twitter after reading the news about the rape joke, saying it was “Not funny. Ever”.
She added, “Duterte is a murderous thug with no regard for human rights. It’s important to keep pointing that out and that rape is never a joke.”
In the same speech on Wednesday, Duterte also lashed out at Justice Antonio Carpio, saying he was just “daldal nang daldal (talking and talking)” when he hadn’t done anything, in reference to issues regarding the South China Sea.
“Put*ng-ina, wala namang ginagawa [Son of a bitch, he’s not doing anything],” the President said, referring to Carpio.
