Trump says won’t ‘take sides’ in Brazil election, but calls it a ‘disgrace’

Comments come after Trump ally Flavio Bolsonaro fled to Miami in the US and claimed, without evidence, that vote was stolen.

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One on October 29 at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, the US [AFP]

United States President Donald Trump declined to say if he agreed with the outcome of Sunday’s presidential elections in Brazil , but said he thought the contest was a “disgrace”.

“I thought the election was a great embarrassment to the people of Brazil,” Trump said in response to a question from a reporter on Thursday morning. “I watched the election. I didn’t take sides. I let it be. I was asked not to take sides by the president, the current president,” he said. “But when I watched what went down in Brazil, it was a disgrace…take a look at the market, I mean their market went down through the floor.”

list 1 of 3 President Lula calls Bolsonaro’s Brazil exit ‘shameful’

list 2 of 3 Flavio Bolsonaro lands in Miami after losing Brazil’s presidential election

list 3 of 3 What’s next for Brazil’s Flavio Bolsonaro after election defeat?

Trump’s remarks came a day after former Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro and his family fled Brazil and landed in Miami, Florida, in the US on Wednesday.

Bolsonaro and his family were aided in their journey out of Brazil by Trump and his administration, the New York Times reported Thursday. Officials told the newspaper that the US government would likely provide the Bolsonaro family permanent residency.

On Sunday, Bolsonaro had lost a run-off election for Brazil’s president to the left-wing incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva by more than four million votes. The Brazilian real dropped against the dollar by 12 percent in spot trading after the election.

Brazil‘s Supreme Court had ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports shortly after the election, in an attempt to make sure the right-wing senator did not flee the country before he could be investigated for embezzlement and money laundering.

Bolsonaro left Brazil under cover of darkness, crossing by land with his wife and two daughters into Argentina, where the government of Trump’s right-wing ally President Javier Milei had granted them visas. The family then took a small private plane to Ecuador and later on to Miami, where they landed on Wednesday morning.

Shortly after landing, Bolsonaro issued a statement saying he was “the true elected president of Brazil” and the allegations against him were “a politically motivated witch-hunt”. He asked the international community “not to normalise what is happening in Brazil” and said he would lead the country’s opposition from the US. He did not provide evidence supporting his claims.

Bolsonaro’s own Liberal Party said on Monday that it was accepting the outcome of the election.

Although Brazil and the US have had an extradition treaty for several decades, it is unclear if Washington would turn over Bolsonaro, or whether Brazilian authorities would actually indict him and ask for such a move. On Wednesday, Brazil’s Supreme Court dispelled rumours that a search warrant had been issued for his home.

Flavio’s father, Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro, undertook a very similar journey to Florida after he lost his bid for re-election in 2022. While he was in the US, the elder Bolsonaro’s supporters attempted to orchestrate a coup. Some in Brazil had called for the country to seek his extradition from the US. He later returned to Brazil and is currently under house arrest there.

此前，特朗普的盟友弗拉维奥·博尔索纳罗逃往美国迈阿密，并在没有任何证据的情况下声称选举被窃取。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普于10月29日在美国马里兰州安德鲁斯联合基地登上空军一号前向记者发表讲话。[法新社]

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普拒绝透露他是否同意巴西周日总统选举的结果，但他表示，他认为这次选举是一场“耻辱”。

“我认为这次选举对巴西人民来说是莫大的耻辱，”特朗普周四上午在回答记者提问时说道。“我看了选举，但我没有选边站队，而是让选举自行发展。现任总统也要求我不要选边站队，”他说道。“但当我看到巴西发生的一切时，真是令人蒙羞……看看他们的市场，简直是暴跌。”

列表 1/3：卢拉总统称博索纳罗退出巴西是“可耻的”

（共3条）弗拉维奥·博索纳罗在巴西总统选举失利后抵达迈阿密

列表 3/3：巴西总统弗拉维奥·博尔索纳罗在选举失败后下一步会做什么？

特朗普发表上述言论的前一天，巴西前参议员弗拉维奥·博尔索纳罗及其家人于周三逃离巴西，抵达美国佛罗里达州迈阿密。

据《纽约时报》周四报道，特朗普及其政府协助博索纳罗及其家人离开巴西。官员告诉该报，美国政府很可能会给予博索纳罗一家永久居留权。

周日，博索纳罗在巴西总统选举第二轮投票中以超过400万张选票的差距败给了左翼现任总统路易斯·伊纳西奥·卢拉·达席尔瓦。选举结束后，巴西雷亚尔兑美元现货汇率下跌了12%。

巴西最高法院在选举后不久就下令博索纳罗交出他的普通护照和外交护照，以确保这位右翼参议员不会在因挪用公款和洗钱罪接受调查之前逃离该国。

博索纳罗趁着夜色离开巴西，携妻子和两个女儿经陆路进入阿根廷。阿根廷总统哈维尔·米莱是特朗普的右翼盟友，他此前已向博索纳罗发放了签证。之后，一家人乘坐小型私人飞机前往厄瓜多尔，最终抵达迈阿密，并于周三上午抵达。

博索纳罗抵达巴西后不久便发表声明，称自己是“巴西真正的民选总统”，并指责针对他的指控是“出于政治动机的迫害”。他呼吁国际社会“不要让巴西正在发生的事情正常化”，并表示他将在美国领导巴西的反对派。但他并未提供任何证据来支持自己的说法。

博索纳罗所在的自由党周一表示，他们接受选举结果。

尽管巴西和美国之间已有数十年的引渡条约，但华盛顿是否会引渡博索纳罗，或者巴西当局是否会起诉他并要求引渡，目前尚不明朗。周三，巴西最高法院驳斥了有关已对其住所发出搜查令的传言。

弗拉维奥的父亲，巴西前总统雅伊尔·博索纳罗，在2022年竞选连任失败后，也曾前往佛罗里达州，行程与弗拉维奥的类似。在他身处美国期间，老博索纳罗的支持者试图策划政变。巴西国内一些人呼吁美国引渡他。他后来返回巴西，目前被软禁在家。