WASHINGTON – White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said the Trump administration has “looked at” changes to libel laws that would curtail press freedoms, but said “whether that goes anywhere is a different story,”
Priebus said in an interview on ABC’s “The Week” that change in the libel laws have been considered.
“I think it’s something that we’ve looked at. How that gets executed or whether that goes anywhere is a different story,” Priebus said, adding that the media needs to be “more responsible with how they report news.”
President Trump frequently slams the press for its coverage of him and in March suggested changing libel laws, New York Post reports.
Priebus on Duterte’s invitation
U.S. President Donald Trump has called Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte and expressed Washington’s commitment to their treaty alliance and his interest in developing “a warm, working relationship,” a Filipino official said Sunday, according to Associated Press.
Presidential spokesman Ernie Abella said Trump mentioned he was looking forward to visiting the Philippines in November to attend an East Asia summit that Duterte will host with several world leaders and that Trump invited Duterte to visit the White House.
Trump’s chief of staff, Reince Priebus, said friendlier ties are needed, even with concerns about Duterte’s human rights record, citing the North Korean threat.
“The purpose of this call is all about North Korea,” Priebus told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “It doesn’t mean that human rights don’t matter.”
Abella’s remarks reflect the friendlier attitude Duterte has taken with Trump versus the antagonistic stance he had toward President Barack Obama, who he once asked to “go to hell” for criticizing the Philippine leader’s bloody anti-drug crackdown. During Obama’s final months in office, the Philippine president moved to build closer economic ties with China and Russia while repeatedly threatening to end his nation’s longstanding military alliance with the U.S.
Duterte’s apparent dislike for Obama began when the U.S. State Department expressed concern over his drug war — which has left thousands of suspects dead — and asked Philippine government officials to take steps to stop extrajudicial killings.
At one point Duterte suggested he may even move to abrogate a 2014 defense agreement that allows U.S. military access to five Philippine military camps.
He has walked back most of those threats but has proceeded with his efforts to align closer with China.
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