President Trump met behind closed doors with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the White House after reporters were barred from a session that was originally scheduled as open press. The reason? According to a source familiar with the meeting, the Brazilian delegation opposed press access because Lula likely would have faced tough questions about his past attacks on Trump.
Those attacks were anything but subtle. Lula, a socialist leftist who openly backed Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election, previously accused Trump of representing “fascism and Nazism coming back with a different face” and once called him a wannabe “emperor of the world.”
Reporters waited roughly three hours before learning they wouldn’t be allowed into the session at all.
Despite the rocky history, Trump declared the meeting a success. “Just concluded my meeting with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the very dynamic President of Brazil,” Trump posted on Truth Social afterward. He said the two leaders discussed trade and tariffs, with additional meetings between representatives from both countries planned in the coming months.
The sit-down comes after years of public feuding between the two presidents over free speech, trade policy, and Brazil’s treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, a close Trump ally often nicknamed the “Trump of the Tropics.”
Trump has been unsparing in his criticism of Brazil’s prosecution of Bolsonaro, whom he has called a “strong Leader, who truly loved his Country.” In July, Trump signed an executive order imposing an additional 40% tariff on Brazil, declaring that the country posed an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and foreign policy. The order specifically cited Brazil’s prosecution of Bolsonaro and alleged censorship of conservatives.
“He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social that same month. “This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent. Something I know much about!”
Trump also posted a letter he wrote directly to Lula, defending Bolsonaro and condemning the Brazilian government’s prosecution as a politically motivated “witch hunt” and “an international disgrace.”
“LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!” Trump demanded.
Bolsonaro, 71, was sentenced to 27 years in prison by Brazil’s Supreme Court over allegations that he attempted to remain in power after losing the 2022 presidential election to Lula. Prosecutors also alleged Bolsonaro was aware of plans to assassinate Lula and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin. Bolsonaro’s supporters argue the prosecution was politically motivated and designed to prevent the right-wing leader from returning to office. He has since been placed under temporary house arrest because of health issues.
During the closed-press meeting, the two leaders were expected to discuss trade, regional security, and organized crime. The Trump administration is reportedly weighing whether to designate two of Brazil’s largest drug gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.
