Trump says Flavio Bolsonaro can stay in US as long as he wants

On Saturday night, US President Donald Trump stated that he has no intention of meeting with Flavio Bolsonaro or backing his political ambitions. The remarks, made during a Halloween gathering at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, hint that tensions between the US and Brazil might persist for a while, even as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio engaged with Brazil's top diplomat earlier in the day.

Trump said, "He can stay here as long as he wants," referring to Bolsonaro, who fled Brazil after losing the election to incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, despite polls indicating he was ahead. Trump expressed his belief that the election was "a disgrace." The Brazilian embassy in Washington declined to comment immediately. Outside observers considered the election to be free and fair.

Bolsonaro arrived in the US following a Supreme Court justice's ruling to cancel his passport, as his campaign is now under two federal money-laundering investigations in Brazil, and authorities view him as a potential flight risk. He entered the country under humanitarian parole, which is usually granted for a year, as reported by Reuters.

Rubio had mentioned on Saturday that he spoke with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira at a G20 meeting in Atlanta, and they plan to meet again in a few weeks. The US official and someone familiar with the situation told Reuters that Trump currently has no plans to back Bolsonaro's political aspirations, even though he allowed the politician entry to the US.

However, Rubio asserted that the US government was not directly involved in any of the events leading to Bolsonaro's departure from Brazil. It is reported by Reuters and other news agencies that Jason Miller, a White House official, assisted in organizing Bolsonaro's journey.

Bolsonaro's father, the former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, is currently imprisoned in Brazil for attempting a coup after losing his own re-election bid in 2022. Lula, on the other hand, spent 17 months in jail in 2018 and 2019 on corruption charges that were later overturned.