Brazil's conservative former president Jair Bolsonaro celebrated President-elect Donald Trump's victory on Monday by being photographed performing Trump's now-famous campaign dance with members of his own party.
Bolsonaro's Brazilian Liberal Party (PL) on Monday showed the former president donning a “Make America Great Again” hat and dancing to the villagers' “YMCA” song with recently elected young PL members. He shared a video showing it. Local elections in Brazil in October. Bolsonaro and his group are seen dancing cheerfully and pumping their fists, similar to what President-elect Trump did at his presidential campaign rallies.
“Our President Jair Bolsonaro also joined this trend and did the Donald Trump dance with PL youth,” the PL message reads.
Bolsonaro is an ardent supporter of President-elect Trump and was one of the first regional leaders to publicly congratulate him following last week's election results, which Bolsonaro called “historic.” '' and described it as “a landmark event that rekindles the flames of freedom and sovereignty'' and true democracy. ”
“Today, we witness the rebirth of a true warrior. A man who, even in the face of a brutal 2020 electoral process and unjust judicial repression, rose again as few in history have been able to do. ” Bolsonaro said last week.
The former president is currently prohibited Although he does not plan to run for public office until 2030, he hopes Trump's victory will encourage Brazil to follow the same path. Bolsonaro narrowly lost to current Socialist Party President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2022. Brazil's Supreme Court suspended Bolsonaro in 2023 for questioning the integrity of Brazil's electoral system in a meeting with diplomats in 2022 when he was president.
Current Brazilian President Lula, who will ultimately congratulate President Trump, said: reportedly expressed the public's support for Vice President Kamala Harris and claimed that a Trump victory would be “Nazism with a different face.”
In addition to being barred from running for public office, Bolsonaro is also barred from leaving Brazil after Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) Minister Alexandre de Moraes ordered Brazil's Federal Police to: . grab Bolsonaro's passport in February. President de Moraes is investigating an alleged “coup” plot by Bolsonaro after his defeat in the 2022 election. De Moraes also forbade Bolsonaro from contacting other people under investigation, including PL President Valdemar Costa Neto.
He spoke in an interview with a left-wing Brazilian newspaper last week. Folha de Sao PauloBolsonaro said He said he would ask the STF to travel to the United States in January to attend President-elect Trump's inauguration if he received an invitation.
“If President Trump invites me, I will petition the TSE.” [Superior Electoral Tribunal] [and] STF. Now, with all due respect, the strongest man in the world… do you think he would invite Lula? It's probably a matter of protocol,” Bolsonaro said. claimed.
“Who will he invite from Brazil? Maybe just me. Is it him? [de Moraes] Are you going to say no to the most powerful man in the world? i am ex [president]. Will the man get into trouble because of his ex-boyfriend? ” he continued.
President-elect Trump has endorsed Bolsonaro in Brazil's 2022 presidential election. At the time, President Trump described Bolsonaro as “one of the great presidents of any country in the world.”
“Thanks to the support of the Brazilian people and their determination to fight for Brazil's interests, today we are respected around the world and rely on the support of free and prosperous countries rather than the socialist dictatorships we once had. ” Bolsonaro responded to Trump at the time.
Bolsonaro is currently banned from running, but the Liberal Party reportedly They have begun nominating him as a candidate for the upcoming 2026 presidential election. Reuters reported It was reported last week that Trump's victory has “reinvigorated” Brazil's right wing, as pro-Bolsonaro lawmakers are pushing for the bill to be passed, which would allow him to run in 2026.
PL President Valdemar Costa Neto told Reuters: “Trump's victory will embolden conservatives around the world and strengthen the movement within Brazil to re-elect Jair Bolsonaro as president in the 2026 elections. Deaf,” he said.
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
