Trump, Brazilian leader see eye to eye

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Brazil’s new far-right leader to the White House Tuesday and made clear that flattery pays.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro — the “Trump of the Tropics”— ran an unabashedly pro-Trump, pro-American campaign last year, emulating Trump in tone and style. It seems to have paid off for Bolsonaro on his first official trip to Washington.

At a joint news conference, Trump announced that he agreed to designate Brazil a “major nonNATO ally” — something Brazil had pursued to smooth U.S. weapons purchases and military co-ordination. Trump even said he would be open to granting full NATO membership to Latin America’s largest and most populous nation, even though Brazil doesn’t quality to join the North Atlantic alliance.

The showing was the latest example of the premium Trump puts on personal relationships and the extent to which he’s willing to work with those who sing his virtues. It renewed focus on the growing wave of populist strongmen who have captured voters’ support with blunt rejection of “political correctness” and hardline immigration views.

As they sat down for the first time, Trump hailed Bolsonaro’s run as “one of the incredible campaigns,” saying he was “honoured” it had drawn comparisons to his own 2016 victory. He predicted the two would have a “fantastic working relationship,” telling reporters at a joint press conference that they have “many views” in common. .

Bolsonaro was equally complimentary, predicting Trump would win re-election in 2020 and drawing parallels between their efforts.

Standing side-by-side in the White House Rose Garden, Bolsonaro said their two countries “stand side by side in their efforts to ensure liberties and respect to traditional family lifestyles, respect to God, our Creator, against the gender ideology or the politically correct attitudes and against fake news.”

“I’m very proud to hear the president use the term ‘fake news’,” Trump later remarked.

The embrace represents a shift in U.S.-Brazilian relations. In 2013, leaks from Edward Snowden revealed that the National Security Agency had wiretapped conversations of former president Dilma Rousseff, leading to years of tense relations between the nations.

Bolsonaro had arrived in the U.S. with a half a dozen ministers and a goal of expanding trade, diplomatic and military co-operation between the two largest economies in the Western Hemisphere.