President Donald Trump announced his decision to meet next week with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva following a spontaneous encounter between the two leaders during the UN General Assembly.
In his address at the annual gathering on Tuesday, after Lula’s speech, Trump recounted their meeting: “I must tell you, I was walking in and the leader of Brazil was walking out. We saw him, and I saw him, he saw me, and we embraced.”
The two leaders have previously been at odds, particularly regarding the conviction of Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to over 27 years in prison for attempting a coup. Bolsonaro is a political ally of Trump, who had previously urged Brazil to dismiss the charges against him. In response to the trial, Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Brazilian exports and sanctioned the Brazilian judge and others involved in the prosecution.
Despite their tensions, Trump spoke positively about Lula on Tuesday, stating, “He seemed like a very nice man, actually. He liked me, I liked him. At least for about 39 seconds we had excellent chemistry; it’s a good sign.”
Trump expressed hope for collaboration between the U.S. and Brazil. However, he noted, “I’m very sorry to say this, that Brazil is doing poorly and will continue to do poorly. They can only do well when they’re working with us. Without us, they will fail, just as others have failed.”
This report was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
