Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday compared himself to Adolf Hitler in his quest to “slaughter” his country’s drug addicts, according to Reuters.
{mosads}During a speech in Davao City, Duterte said that he had been “portrayed to be a cousin of Hitler” by his detractors.
Hitler had killed millions of Jews, Duterte said, adding, “There are 3 million drug addicts [in the Philippines]. I’d be happy to slaughter them.”
“If Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have,” he said before pointing at himself.
Since taking office at the end of June, the Filipino strongman’s police and vigilantes have killed over 3,100 people, most of whom were allegedly drug dealers and users.
Duterte has also inflamed tensions with the U.S. Earlier this month, he called President Obama a “son of a whore” when asked by a reporter how he would respond to U.S. criticisms of his war on drug users.
Obama responded by canceling a planned meeting with Duterte.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called Duterte’s comments on Friday “shocking for their tone-deafness.”
“The comparison of drug users and dealers to Holocaust victims is inappropriate and deeply offensive,” said Todd Gutnick, an ADL spokesman. “It is baffling why any leader would want to model himself after such a monster.”