Trump Says Flávio Bolsonaro Can Stay in the U.S. 'As Long as He Wants' After Losing Brazil's Runoff to Lula
The defeated Brazilian senator fled to the United States after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva beat him 51.8 to 48.2 in the Oct. 25 runoff — on Saturday at Mar-a-Lago, President Trump opened the door and said he has no plans to meet him.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Flávio Bolsonaro, the Brazilian senator who lost his country's presidential runoff to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, can stay in the United States 'as long as he wants,' Reuters reported. Trump, speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, also said he has no plans to meet with Bolsonaro, who fled to the U.S. after his election loss.
The loss itself is a week old and was not close enough to leave the count in doubt. With 100 percent of the vote counted, Brazil's electoral court announced that Lula led Bolsonaro by nearly 4.4 million votes, 51.8 percent to 48.2 percent, the Associated Press reported — a fourth presidential term for Lula, won after he had finished second in the first round. Bolsonaro quickly refused to concede and asked for the results to be annulled, pointing to a last-minute decision on runoff day to extend voting by two hours; the president of the electoral court, Kassio Nunes Marques, said the extension did not impact the results.
Trump's remark puts the United States in an unusual seat: hosting the defeated candidate of a major ally's election while declining, at least publicly, to receive him. Bolsonaro is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro and had campaigned as the candidate of closer relations with Trump. For now, per the president's own words, he can stay — and the meeting, if it ever comes, is not on the calendar.
