US President Donald Trump announced his intention to meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva next week, noting that they shared “excellent chemistry” during a brief interaction at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
Trump mentioned that he and Lula had a short conversation and embraced following the Brazilian leader’s address to the Assembly. The two leaders have been in disagreement for several months regarding the trial and conviction of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.
“We had a good discussion, and we agreed to meet next week,” Trump stated. “He appeared to be a very nice man … For at least 39 seconds, we had excellent chemistry,” he continued. “It’s a positive indication.”
Trump’s comments positively impacted Brazilian markets, with the real strengthening by approximately 1 percent against the US dollar, and the benchmark Bovespa stock index increasing by over 1 percent to reach an all-time high.
Subsequently, Brazil’s presidency confirmed the potential for a discussion between the two leaders next week.
In his address to the General Assembly, Lula issued a strong criticism of US foreign policy.
He condemned the Trump administration for implementing tariffs, visa restrictions, and financial sanctions in reaction to Bolsonaro’s trial and conviction for attempting a coup after losing the 2022 election.
In August, Trump enacted a 50 percent tariff on U.S. imports of numerous Brazilian products to combat what he termed a “witch hunt” against Bolsonaro, who received a 27-year prison sentence for his coup attempt to maintain power.
(This is an agency story. Except for the headline, it has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)
