Breaking News: DDS Spreads Fake Trump Defense of Duterte as Ex-President Faces ICC in The Hague

Breaking News! Duterte Diehard Supporters (DDS) are flooding social media with fake claims that President Donald Trump has condemned the International Criminal Court (ICC) for arresting former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

However, as Duterte made his first appearance before the ICC earlier today, fact-checkers and officials confirm no such statement from Trump or his administration exists—exposing a coordinated DDS effort to bolster their embattled leader with fabricated U.S. support.

Duterte, arrested in Manila on March 11, 2025, pursuant to an ICC warrant for alleged crimes against humanity tied to his brutal “war on drugs,” arrived in The Hague on March 13 after being transferred to ICC custody the previous day.

Today, at 9:30PM Manila time, he faced the court for the first time in an initial hearing streamed live with a 30-minute delay on the ICC’s official platforms.

The session, marking the start of his legal battle over charges of murder as a crime against humanity from 2011 to 2019, saw Duterte formally identified and informed of the accusations.

He remains detained at the ICC’s facility in The Hague as the pre-trial phase begins.

Meanwhile, DDS supporters, led by notorious fake news purveyor Malou Tiquia, have seized the moment to spread disinformation.

Tiquia posted across multiple social media accounts a fabricated Trump statement allegedly blasting the ICC and defending Duterte, igniting a firestorm among Duterte loyalists. Despite no evidence of any comment from Trump—via his

@realDonaldTrump handle, press releases, or spokesperson Caroline Leavitt—Tiquia has refused to retract her posts, even after backlash, continuing to mislead her followers.

Fact-checking has dismantled these claims: no credible trace of Trump’s alleged statement exists in White House briefings, major news outlets, or his known channels.

A falsified Washington Post graphic, debunked by the outlet’s spokesperson on March 12, and a recycled video of Trump’s 2018 ICC criticism have been identified as DDS propaganda tools. Analysts suggest the group is exploiting Trump’s past skepticism of the ICC to conjure a narrative of international backing that simply isn’t there.

By contrast, China’s Foreign Ministry offered a real response, stating Beijing is “closely monitoring” Duterte’s arrest and urging the ICC to “avoid politicization and double standards”—a rare official reaction absent from the U.S. side.