Brazilian president meets, bonds with Trump
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he will work to designate Brazil a “major non-NATO ally” — and maybe even full NATO membership — as he welcomed the country’s new Trump-friendly far-right leader to the White House. That’s despite the fact that Brazil doesn’t qualify to join the North Atlantic alliance.
Jair Bolsonaro, who has been described as the “Trump of the Tropics,” ran on an unabashedly pro-American platform, emulating Mr. Trump in tone and in style. It’s a position that seemed to pay off for the leader on his first official trip to Washington.
As they sat down for the first time, Mr. Trump praised Mr. Bolsonaro, saying he’d done “a very outstanding job” so far and hailed his run as “one of the incredible campaigns.” Mr. Trump said he was “honored” Mr. Bolsonaro’s campaign had drawn comparisons with his own 2016 victory. And he predicted the two would have a “fantastic working relationship,” telling reporters at a joint news conference that they have “many views” in common. The two also exchanged soccer jerseys in a sign of friendship.
Mr. Bolsonaro has made clear he wants to strengthen military and economic ties with the U.S., and Mr. Trump appeared eager to deliver, announcing that he would back Brazil’s effort’s to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
O’Rourke stops in Pa.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Former U.S. representative and presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke says “there’s a lot of wisdom” in scrapping the Electoral College system because it puts some states out of play in presidential elections.
Mr. O’Rourke made the comments Tuesday after speaking to a Penn State University crowd. Pennsylvania is a late-voting state that may yet play a role in the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential primary contest.
The Texan suggests that changing the Constitution to adopt a popular vote for president would ensure that every voter counts.
The idea has traction among Democrats, since Hillary Clinton netted nearly 3 million more votes in 2016 than Republican Donald Trump, yet lost the Electoral College and therefore the White House.
Pennsylvania was one of the states that swung narrowly to Mr. Trump, helping deliver his victory.
NZ leader makes pledge
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — New Zealand’s prime minister declared Tuesday she would do everything in her power to deny the accused mosque gunman a platform for elevating his white supremacist views, after the man dismissed his lawyer and opted to represent himself at his trial in the killings of 50 people.
“I agree that it is absolutely something that we need to acknowledge, and do what we can to prevent the notoriety that this individual seeks,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters. “He obviously had a range of reasons for committing this atrocious terrorist attack. Lifting his profile was one of them. And that’s something that we can absolutely deny him.”
She demurred about whether she wanted the trial to occur behind closed doors, saying that was not her decision to make.
“One thing I can assure you — you won’t hear me speak his name,” she said.
Kazakh leader resigns
Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev said that he was stepping down, touching off a potentially perilous period of transition in one of the world’s most geopolitically fragile regions.
Mr. Nazarbayev has ruled Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s largest country, since it became an independent state with the collapse of the Soviet Union. On Tuesday, he said in a nationally televised address that after nearly 30 years in power, it was time to leave the presidency.
But Mr. Nazarbayev, 78, said he would remain head of the country’s security council, leaving him with broad influence over Kazakhstan’s security apparatus. Senate Chairman Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will take over as president until the next election, currently scheduled for 2020.
“I’ll remain with you,” Mr. Nazarbayev said. “The concerns of the country and the people will remain my concerns.”