Palace calls Bette Midler ‘gullible,’ quotes ‘From A Distance’

Malacañang hit back at Bette Midler on Sunday, after the US singer and actress named President Rodrigo Duterte among the world's most infamous dictators in a tweet.

Saying that Midler, a vocal Trump critic, has the right to criticize her own country's government, the Palace added in a statement, "She however has no right as she is incompetent and a gullible talking head as well, on matters concerning foreign leaders she has no personal knowledge of."

The statement from presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo went on to say that Midler "should refrain from giving one-sided and judgmental comments on internal affairs of another sovereign state, especially if her references are false narratives coming from the political opposition and some biased media outlets whose agenda is to besmirch President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and his administration before the global stage."

Panelo then quotes the song "From A Distance," which Midler covered in 1990:

"We suggest that she revisits her famous song From A Distance and learn from its lyrics that she may look at a foreign leader of a distant country with a positive outlook: - 'From a distance there is harmony & it echoes through the land It’s the voice of hope It’s the voice of peace It’s the voice of every man From a distance we are instruments Marching in common band Playing songs of hope Playing songs of peace They are the songs of every man.'"

In a tweet on Saturday, Midler urged Americans to care about the current impeachment hearings in the US House of Representatives against President Donald Trump.

"For Americans who think the impeachment hearings have nothing to do with them, think again. Want to leave the door open to a Hitler? A Stalin? A Castro? A Duterte? A Pol Pot? A Putin? An Assad? A Chavez? A Kim Jong Un? A Mussolini? A Mugabe? An Amin? #Trump's the gateway to that," she said.

For Americans who think the impeachment hearings have nothing to do with them, think again. Want to leave the door open to a Hitler? A Stalin? A Castro? A Duterte? A Pol Pot? A Putin? An Assad? A Chavez? A Kim Jong Un? A Mussolini? A Mugabe? An Amin? #Trump’s the gateway to that.

— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) November 23, 2019

— BM, GMA News