As defeated right-wing Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro landed in Miami after fleeing his home country on Wednesday, Oct. 28, President Donald Trump said he approved of the move.
"I think they’re fine people. The election was very strange, and I thought it was terrible. It got bad reviews, and look what happened to their market," Trump told reporters outside Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday.
Trump’s comments came only hours before Bolsonaro landed in Miami after the United States granted Bolsonaro and his family visas to enter the country.
Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, fled Brazil after a Brazilian judge ordered him to surrender his passport and
barred him from leaving the country. The order came shortly after he lost the presidential runoff election. The court order also came as part of a criminal investigation into Bolsonaro’s alleged involvement in a money laundering scheme.
Bolsonaro lost to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the 81-year-old incumbent leftist, in the second round of the presidential election on Oct. 25. The result surprised Bolsonaro, who led in the first round and was widely favored to defeat Lula da Silva, as he refused to concede and initially pledged to seek an annulment of the election, citing "foul play."
Lula da Silva calls Bolsonaro fleeing Brazil 'shameful'
Once news of Bolsonaro fleeing Brazil began circulating, Lula da Silva told supporters his opponent should have stayed in the country to prove his innocence, Reuters reported.
"This act of leaving Brazil is shameful," Lula da Silva said. "When I was asked to surrender my passport, I did so. He should have done the same. If the Federal Police suspected he was going to leave Brazil, he ought to have surrendered his. Regrettably, that is the Bolsonaro family for you."
Currently, Bolsonaro’s father, Jair, is serving a 27-year prison sentence after being found guilty of plotting against Lula da Silva in the aftermath of the 2022 election.
Bolsonaro's younger brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who has resided in Texas since 2025, suggested during an Oct. 23 appearance on the "Louder with Crowder" podcast that his sibling should flee Brazil if he didn’t win the election. Flávio Bolsonaro said in a social media video that his brother’s comments prompted Brazilian authorities to order the surrender of his passport.
Trump has criticized Brazil's voting process
While Trump did not formally endorse Bolsonaro during the election, he has repeatedly criticized Brazil's voting process.
"It looked like another rigged election, frankly," Trump said on Oct. 26.
Trump has also condemned the criminal prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro, calling it a "witch hunt." The Trump administration imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil last year, a move, in part, motivated by the U.S. president's anger over Jair Bolsonaro's criminal trial.
Contributing: Miles J. Herszenhorn, USA TODAY; Reuters
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says he approves of Flávio Bolsonaro fleeing Brazil for the US
