Trump Calls Brazil Election Lula Won a "Rigged Election"

U.S. President Donald Trump called the Brazilian election, in which President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva secured a fourth term, a “rigged election.” However, he provided no specific evidence that the election had been rigged.

AP Yonhap News

Speaking to reporters on Oct. 26 (local time) while traveling to Mississippi, President Trump said the Brazilian election “looked terrible,” adding, “I didn’t take either side, but it looked like another rigged election.”

“Elections should be beyond doubt for anyone, but it looked very bad to me,” he said. “I watched the election, and it looked really corrupt.”

Asked how the United States would respond to the Brazilian election results, he replied, “I govern the United States, not Brazil.” He went on to repeat his claim that there had been problems with the vote-counting process.

In the Brazilian presidential runoff held on Oct. 25, leftist President Lula won a fourth term with 51.79% of the vote, defeating right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, who received 48.21%. Bolsonaro has not yet conceded defeat.

President Trump did not publicly endorse any particular candidate in this election. However, he previously praised Bolsonaro after he came in first in the first round of voting.

Bolsonaro’s father, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, is considered a longtime political ally of President Trump. Trump, meanwhile, has clashed with President Lula over trade policy and other issues.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.