Source : BRICS NEWS
United States President Donald Trump has said that Brazil’s presidential election “looked like another rigged election”, BRICS News reported in a post on X on October 27, 2026, after incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro.
“JUST IN: President Trump says Brazil’s election ‘looked like another rigged election,'” BRICS News wrote. Mr Trump offered no evidence to support the claim.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, October 26, before flying to Mississippi for a rally, Mr Trump said: “Elections have to be indisputable and it looked very bad to me. I thought it had a very bad look, the way it was tabulated.” He added: “It looked like another rigged election, frankly,” according to The Independent and the Associated Press.
Lula won a historic fourth term in the runoff on Sunday, October 25, taking 51.79 per cent of the vote against 48.21 per cent for Mr Bolsonaro, according to USA Today. The 80-year-old incumbent won more than 64 million votes compared with just under 60 million for his rival. He is expected to take office on January 5, 2027, for his fourth non-consecutive term.
Mr Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, had initially refused to accept defeat and said he would ask for the result to be annulled. He argued that a decision to extend voting hours on polling day, driven by poor weather, transport problems and requests from both campaigns, was a “dirty trick”. The extension was ordered by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin, who was once Lula’s personal lawyer.
However, early data showed that the extra voting time produced only around 31,000 votes, far short of Lula’s margin of about 4.43 million. The Washington Post reported that Mr Bolsonaro effectively conceded defeat minutes after Mr Trump indicated he would not intervene on his behalf, backing off his call for annulment. His Liberal Party later issued a statement saying it recognised the presidential result proclaimed by the electoral court, while maintaining that “the questions raised need to be properly clarified”.
Brazilian institutions and regional leaders, including conservative presidents who oppose Lula, moved quickly to recognise the result. Among them was Kassio Nunes, president of Brazil’s electoral authority, who was appointed to the Supreme Court by Jair Bolsonaro.
“This is a really uphill battle for Flavio Bolsonaro. Important Brazilian power brokers are closing ranks behind Lula, sometimes begrudgingly,” said Brian Winter, editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly, as quoted by The Independent.
Mr Bolsonaro’s defeat denies the White House a powerful ideological ally at the head of Latin America’s largest economy. He had promised closer ties with the Trump administration, while Lula is expected to act as a counterweight in a region where several governments have shifted to the right.
The election has also drawn comment from other prominent figures in the US. Tech billionaire Elon Musk said the results did not “add up”, while investor Alex Soros congratulated Lula on his victory. Jair Bolsonaro, who unsuccessfully contested his own loss to Lula in 2022, is serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup and is under house arrest.
Source: BRICS News on X
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