Trump flies to Bolsonaro’s defense and threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs

Trump demands an end to the trial of Jair Bolsonaro, a counterpart with autocratic tendencies very similar to his own.

President Donald Trump sent a threatening letter to his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, asking him to end the trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial for attempted coup d'état.

Trump calls the process a "witch hunt", even though Bolsonaro is accused of trying to overturn the election he lost to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvalors 2022 presidential elections.

Trump demands that the lawsuit brought against Bolsonaro, in connection with events that strongly evoke the Capitol attack of January 6, 2021, replicated in Brazil almost exactly two years later, on January 8, 2023 "end immediately!".

In his letter, Donald Trump warned Lula da Silva that the US would impose 50% tariffs from August 1 in retaliation for Jair Bolsonaro's trial.

The Brazilian president immediately retorted on X, asserting that "Brazil is a sovereign nation with independent institutions" and that no form of tutelage would be tolerated, adding that any tariffs imposed by Washington would be reciprocally applied to American products.

On January 8, 2023, supporters of Jair Bolsonaro stormed institutions in Brasília to contest Lula's victory, an act described as an attempted coup that led to the opening of a trial against the ex-president, officially launched on June 9.

Before the Supreme Court, Bolsonaro is being prosecuted for coup d'état, violent abolition of the rule of law and armed criminal organization, with a verdict expected in several months and a sentence of up to 40 years in prison.