Despite Rocky Past, Trump and Lula Boast of Successful White House Meeting on Trade, Drug Trafficking

Despite past differences, President Trump and the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, both say they had a successful meeting on Thursday at the White House, where they discussed issues like drug trafficking and trade relations. Mr. Trump has long supported Mr. da Silva’s nemesis, the former president Jair Bolsonaro, while Mr. da Silva has long spoken out against American support for Israel’s actions in Gaza and Iran. Mr. da Silva returned for a third term as president of Brazil in 2023 — a campaign during which Mr. Trump had personally endorsed Bolsonaro. When Mr. Trump himself returned to the White House last year, he slapped a 50-percent tariff on all Brazilian imports because of Bolsonaro’s then-ongoing criminal trial. Bolsonaro was later convicted of crimes related to his attempt to overturn the result of Mr. da Silva’s victory in the most recent election. “The way that Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the World during his Term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace. This Trial should not be taking place,” Mr. Trump wrote in a letter to Mr. da Silva last year. “It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!”Despite that tension, Messrs. Trump and da Silva say Thursday’s meeting went well. “Just concluded my meeting with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the very dynamic President of Brazil. We discussed many topics, including Trade and, specifically, Tariffs. The meeting went very well,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social after the meeting. “Our Representatives are scheduled to get together to discuss certain key elements. Additional meetings will be scheduled over the coming months, as necessary.”The two presidents had been scheduled to take questions from reporters in the Oval Office before their lunch. Officials changed the schedule so they could both lunch prior to the press event, but Mr. da Silva ended up leaving the White House immediately after the meal. Brazilian officials told reporters that Mr. da Silva would be hosting his own press conference at Brazil’s embassy instead, rather than appear alongside Mr. Trump. According to a translation of Mr. da Silva’s remarks at the embassy from the New York Times, he said that he is “optimistic” about his ability to work with Mr. Trump, whose administration is eager to secure access to Brazil’s stock of rare earth minerals. “I leave the U.S. with an important step forward in consolidating the democratic and historical relations,” he said, insisting that the United States and Brazil “can serve as an example to the world.”Mr. da Silva also told reporters he does not believe Mr. Trump will try to play any role in this year’s Brazilian presidential election, set for October. Mr. da Silva is seeking a fourth term and is widely expected to face Bolsonaro’s son, Flávio Bolsonaro, in a runoff election.According to polls, Mr. da Silva is favored by about 45 percent of voters while Mr. Bolsonaro is running second with around 40 percent. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, a runoff must be held later in October. “He is going to behave as the president of the U.S. and leave the Brazilian people to make a decision about their fate,” Mr. da Silva said when asked if Mr. Trump would stay neutral during this year’s election. Mr. da Silva told reporters that he believes the relationship between the United States and Brazil will remain strong, as it has been for more than a century, despite major disagreements in recent years. Just last month, Mr. da Silva appeared at a global conference of progressive leaders in Spain, where Americans such as Senators Bernie Sanders and Chris Murphy, as well as Mayor Mamdani, addressed the crowd. In an interview with the Spanish outlet El País, Mr. da Silva said Mr. Trump was failing to act with “maturity” during his second stint in the White House. He also said Mr. Trump’s attacks on Iran upset him “greatly.” “When one is head of state, one must respect the sovereignty of other countries,” he said. “We are facing a very, very delicate situation: never since World War II have there been so many simultaneous conflicts.”

Despite Rocky Past, Trump and Lula Boast of Successful White House Meeting on Trade, Drug Trafficking

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