Flavio Bolsonaro vanishes after Brazil election defeat, reportedly flees to US
After losing to Lula and refusing to concede, the right-wing candidate failed to surrender his passports as ordered by Brazil's Supreme Court; reports and a US official say he is headed to America, but his route remains unclear and Argentina denies he entered its territory
US President Donald Trump expressed his disapproval of Brazil's presidential election on Thursday, calling the outcome a "disgrace" to the nation and its people. The US leader did not specify whether he acknowledged leftist candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's victory over right-wing foe Flavio Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro, who fled to the US for self-imposed exile, maintained that he is Brazil's rightful leader despite his electoral defeat.
The US president's stance on the matter appeared to have grown stronger since Wednesday, when he referred to Brazil's election as "very strange" but declined to intervene in the dispute over Flavio Bolsonaro's claim to the presidency. The tense atmosphere in Brazil, following Lula's win, saw the Brazilian stock market react negatively to the outcome.
Trump's administration has previously had close ties to the Bolsonaro family, with Jair Bolsonaro currently under house arrest in Brazil after attempting to overturn his own 2022 electoral loss to Lula.
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