Brazil’s President Bolsonaro raises DOUBTS that Biden won the 2020 election just two days before their meeting at the Summit of the Americas and praises Trump
- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro raised doubs that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election two days before their first in-person in Los Angeles
- Bolsonaro was echoing complaints made by former President Donald Trump, who falsely claimed he was a victim of widespread voter fraud
- ‘I will not discuss the sovereignty of another country. But Trump was doing really well,’ he said in a TV interview, according to Reuters
- Bolsonaro is one of the heads of state who is showing up at this week’s Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles
- The White House confirmed Tuesday that no heads of state of the three Northern Triangle countries – Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador – would attend
- Mexico’s president is boycotting the meeting due to the United States not inviting the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro raised doubs that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election two days before their first in-person meeting at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.
Bolsonaro, nicknamed the ‘Trump of the Tropics,’ said in a television interview Tuesday that he is still suspicious of Biden’s win, echoing complaints made by former President Donald Trump, who still falsely claims he was robbed a second term due to widespread voter fraud.
‘The American people are the ones who talk about [election fraud,],’ he said, according to Reuters. ‘I will not discuss the sovereignty of another country. But Trump was doing really well.’
‘We don’t want that to happen in Brazil,’ said Bolsonaro, who is on the ballot in October.
On Monday a reporter asked a senior White House official on a planning call of the conference why Biden is rewarding Bolsonaro with a meeting, pointing to statements the leader made suggesting he might not concede the race – similar to what Trump pulled in 2020.
‘I guess what I would say about the decision to do a meeting is that President Bolsonaro is a democratically elected leader of Brazil, a country the United States shares a significant set of common interests and concerns,’ the senior administration official said.
Bolsonaro didn’t congratulate Biden on his 2020 election win until mid-December 2020 – more than a month after the race was called for the Democrat.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro raised doubs that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election two days before their first in-person meeting at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles
The White House finally released on Tuesday morning a full list of delegation leaders for this week’s Summit of the Americas, which already kicked off in Los Angeles.
It confirmed that no heads of state of the three Northern Triangle countries – Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador – would attend the conference, but Bolsonaro would.
The Biden-Bolsonaro bilateral meeting is scheduled for Thursday.
White House officials were peppered with questions throughout Monday on how the summit can have an impact if key leaders were sitting out.
The Northern Triangle countries ‘will be represented at the summit and will fully participate in the summit,’ a senior White House official argued on a call late Monday previewing Vice President Kamala Harris’ role in the summit this week. ‘They are sending delegations.’
El Salvador will be represented by Foreign Affairs Minister Alexandra Hill, Guatemala’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mario Adolfo Búcaro Flores will attend, as will Honduras’ Foreign Affairs Minister Enrique Reina.
Harris traveled to Honduras earlier this year to attend the inauguration of President Xiomara Castro, who opted out of attending the summit.
(Left to right) Honduran President Xiomara Castro, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador have announced they will not be attending
Harris was tasked by President Joe Biden to tackle the ‘root causes’ of migration, with most migrants heading toward the U.S.-Mexico border coming from the Northern Triangle.
Earlier Monday, Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed he wouldn’t be coming, making good on a boycott threat over the White House’s planned snub of Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel, Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega.
Castro also skipped for this reason.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that Biden didn’t want ‘dictators’ to attend the conference.
‘The president’s principled position is that we do not believe dictators should be invited,’ Jean-Pierre said at Monday’s briefing. ‘Which is the reason that the president has decided not to attend,’ she added, referring to López Obrador’s position.
Jean-Pierre and other White House officials were then asked how Biden could be mulling a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – known as ‘MBS’ – which U.S. intelligence directly implicated in the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, while refusing to host the trio of authoritarian leaders.
Jean-Pierre called Saudi Arabia ‘a strategic partner of the United States for nearly 80 years.’
‘You know, if he determines that it’s in the interest of the United States to engage with a foreign leader and that such an engagement can deliver results, then he’ll do it,’ the press secretary said.
The White House has so far not confirmed a trip to Saudi Arabia or a potential meeting with MBS.
‘We have at no time said, including in discussions of participation related to this summit, that we are severing all relations or refusing to engage with countries about whom we have significant concerns related to democratic governance,’ a senior White House official said during a briefing call later Monday. ‘We engage with countries like that in all parts of the world and we will engage with countries like that in our own hemisphere when we think it’s in our interest to do so.’
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that Biden didn’t want ‘dictators’ to attend the conference
‘That’s a different question from whether and when we will invite those countries to participate in a regional gathering that we believe is intended to and is best served by celebrating the democratic principles that unite the vast majority of the hemisphere,’ the official continued. ‘So we think it’s a bit of an apples and oranges comparison.’
The full list of delegates attending the Summit of the Americas in LA
Antigua and Barbuda: The Honorable Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina: His Excellency Alberto Fernández, President of the Argentine Republic
The Bahamas: The Honorable Philip Davis, Prime Minister of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas and Minister of Finance
Barbados: The Honorable Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados
Belize:The Honorable John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize
Bolivia: His Excellency Rogelio Mayta Mayta, Minister of External Relations of the Plurinational State of Bolivia
Brazil: His Excellency Jair Bolsonaro, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil
Canada: The Right Honorable Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P., Prime Minister of Canada
Chile: His Excellency Gabriel Boric Font, President of the Republic of Chile
Colombia: His Excellency Iván Duque, President of the Republic of Colombia
Costa Rica: His Excellency Rodrigo Chaves Robles, President of the Republic of Costa Rica
Dominica: The Honorable Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica
Dominican Republic: His Excellency Luis Abinader, President of the Dominican Republic
Ecuador: His Excellency Guillermo Lasso Mendoza, President of the Republic of Ecuador
El Salvador: Her Excellency Alexandra Hill, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of El Salvador
Grenada: The Honorable Nickolas Steele, Minister for Health and Social Security of Grenada
Guatemala: His Excellency Mario Adolfo Búcaro Flores, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Guatemala
Guyana: His Excellency Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana
Haiti: His Excellency Ariel Henry, Prime Minister of the Republic of Haiti
Honduras: His Excellency Enrique Reina, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Honduras
Jamaica: The Most Honorable Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica
Mexico: His Excellency Marcelo Ebrard, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the United Mexican States
Panama: His Excellency Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, President of the Republic of Panama
Paraguay: His Excellency Mario Abdo Benítez, President of the Republic of Paraguay
Peru: His Excellency Pedro Castillo, President of the Republic of Peru
Saint Kitts and Nevis: Her Excellency Thelma Browne, Ambassador of Saint Kitts and Nevis to the United States of America
Saint Lucia: The Honorable Philip J. Pierre, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia
Suriname: His Excellency Chandrikapersad Santokhi, President of the Republic of Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago: The Honorable Dr. Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
United States: The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States of America
Uruguay: His Excellency Francisco Bustillo, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay
Organization of American States (OAS): His Excellency Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States
United Nations (UN): His Excellency António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nation
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