President Donald Trump personally approved admitting defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro to the US, according to a US official cited by Reuters, putting the White House behind a decision that could complicate the conservative opposition it previously sought to help.
Bolsonaro is now in Miami, while Trump’s administration has no current plans to support his claim to be Brazil’s legitimate leader, two people familiar with the position told Reuters.
The political costs could extend beyond Bolsonaro himself. His Liberal Party won 121 of 513 seats in Brazil’s lower house and 29 of 81 Senate seats. The party remains a formidable opposition bloc as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva prepares for another term.
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READ: Bolsonaro Rejects Brazil Runoff Result as Lula Prepares for Fourth Term
Yet a third US official told Reuters that Bolsonaro had lost political standing by leaving Brazil. Brazilian officials speaking anonymously to the news agency argued his departure could strengthen Lula by weakening coordination among conservatives.
The October 25 runoff gave Lula 64,256,232 votes, or 51.79%, against Bolsonaro’s 59,826,041 votes, or 48.21%. Brazilian electoral authorities recorded a margin of more than 4.4 million votes.
Trump’s approval came during Bolsonaro’s journey out of Brazil. After a Supreme Court justice ordered him to surrender his passport amid police investigations into two alleged money-laundering schemes, Bolsonaro crossed into Argentina with his wife and two daughters before flying through Ecuador to Miami.
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A person familiar with the arrangements told Reuters that Trump adviser Jason Miller helped organize the flight from Argentina. A US official said Secretary of State Marco Rubio recommended Bolsonaro’s admission and Trump personally agreed.
US officials subsequently arranged humanitarian parole, which allows temporary entry without granting asylum or permanent residency.
In Washington, the political message was already changing. The Washington Post reported that Trump said, “But I won’t get involved,” when asked about Bolsonaro’s election complaints. UOL subsequently reported, citing diplomatic sources, that US representatives urged changes to a statement portraying Bolsonaro as president-elect.
A Bolsonaro ally disputed that account.
Trump has publicly questioned the election’s fairness, but has also spoken positively about Lula.
US-Brazil goods and services trade approached $135 billion in 2025, according to the Congressional Research Service, following disputes over tariffs and sanctions.
