Lula says he will go to UN to tell Trump to ‘stay out’ of Brazil’s elections

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced on Wednesday that he plans to address US President Donald Trump and urge him not to interfere in Brazil's upcoming elections at the United Nations General Assembly next week. The left-wing leader is scheduled to deliver his speech on Tuesday at the global leadership gathering in New York, where he might encounter his US counterpart, who is an ally to Lula's right-wing election rival, Flavio Bolsonaro.

During a campaign stop in Ceilandia, a working-class district in Brasilia, Lula stated, "I'm going to the UN meeting to have a conversation with Trump and tell him: don't meddle in the elections in Brazil." The Brazilian foreign ministry confirmed that no specific bilateral meeting is planned for Lula and Trump, but they are expected to meet at the Assembly, as they did last year.

Tensions with the Trump administration escalated in July when the United States imposed two additional rounds of tariffs on Brazilian goods, which Lula criticized as an attempt to influence the elections through economic pressure. The conflict with Washington originated in 2025 when the US first imposed tariffs on Brazil in response to the trial of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, Flavio's father, who was convicted of attempting a coup d'état.