The comments came after President Trump’s ally Flavio Bolsonaro fled to Miami in the US and claimed without evidence that the vote had been stolen.
Published October 29, 2026
US President Donald Trump declined to say whether he agreed with the results of Sunday’s presidential election in Brazil, but said he thought the campaign was “disgraceful.”
“I thought this election was a great shame for the Brazilian people,” President Trump said in response to a question from a reporter Thursday morning. “I was watching the election. I didn’t take sides. I left it alone. I was asked by the president, the current president, not to take sides.” “But if you look at what happened in Brazil, it was disgraceful… Look at the market, I mean, their market went through the roof.”
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President Trump’s remarks came a day after former Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro and his family fled Brazil on Wednesday and arrived in Miami, Florida, in the United States.
The New York Times reported Thursday that Bolsonaro and his family received support from Trump and his administration in leaving Brazil. Officials told the newspaper that the U.S. government is likely to grant the Bolsonaro family permanent residency.
Bolsonaro lost to left-wing incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva by more than 4 million votes in Brazil’s presidential run-off on Sunday. The Brazilian real fell 12% against the dollar in spot trading after the election.
Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports immediately after the election to prevent him from fleeing the country before being investigated on suspicion of embezzlement and money laundering.
Mr. Bolsonaro left Brazil under cover of darkness and traveled overland with his wife and two daughters to Argentina, where the government of President Javier Millei, a right-wing ally of Mr. Trump, granted him a visa. The family then took a small private plane to Ecuador and then to Miami, arriving there on Wednesday morning.
Immediately after landing, Bolsonaro issued a statement saying he was the “true elected president of Brazil” and that the allegations against him were a “politically motivated witch hunt.” He urged the international community “not to normalize what is happening in Brazil” and said he would lead the U.S. opposition movement. He provided no evidence to support his claims.
Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party said on Monday it would accept the election results.
Brazil and the United States have had an extradition treaty for decades, but it is unclear whether the United States will extradite Mr. Bolsonaro or whether Brazilian authorities will actually prosecute Mr. Bolsonaro and press for such a move. On Wednesday, Brazil’s Supreme Court dispelled rumors that a search warrant had been issued for his home.
Flavio’s father, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, made a very similar trip to Florida after his unsuccessful bid for re-election in 2022. While Bolsonaro was in the United States, his elderly supporters attempted to stage a coup. Some in Brazil had called for the country to extradite him from the United States. He then returned to Brazil, where he is currently under house arrest.
