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You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Late Night Open Thread: Bolsanaro Visits His Old Friend TFG

Late Night Open Thread: Bolsanaro Visits His Old Friend TFG

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… Assuming he can get past the security guys, of course.

My google-fu is failing me, but I seem to remember Bolsonaro was responsible for a small superspreader event after visiting Marred-A-Largo back in 2020, and he’s had the ‘rona at least twice more since then, IIRC. (He loudly refuses to get vaccinated, because of course he does.)

Of course, it’s easy for *us* to joke. Per Yahoo:

… After narrowly losing re-election to leftist President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, this past fall, Bolsonaro has largely receded from public life, refusing to officially concede his electoral loss, and punctuating a weeks-long silence with cryptic remarks to his supporters, telling them “who decides where I go are you. Who decides which way the armed forces go are you,” in early December.

Now, according to multiple reports across Brazilian media and confirmed by Globo News White House reporter Raquel Krähenbühl, Bolsonaro has begun telling close friends that he will not be in the country to hand over the presidential sash to Lula, and will instead be relaxing at Mar-a-Lago, from which former President Donald Trump has ostensibly been running his 2024 re-election campaign.

Reports of Bolsonaro’s decision to spend New Year’s in Florida come amid growing concerns that Lula’s inauguration is being targeted for terrorist violence, with incoming Justice Minister Flavio Dino announcing plans to bolster security for the event after authorities arrested a man allegedly in the midst of a bomb plot. “We’re not talking about a lone wolf,” Dino said during a December 26 TV interview. “There are powerful people behind this, and the police will investigate.”

Bolsonaro’s alleged upcoming Mar-a-Lago stay is not the first time he’s sojourned at Trump’s Florida estate, nor is it a wholesale surprise. In addition to having been particularly close during their respective administrations due to their shared sense of ultra-nationalism and far-right leanings, Bolsonaro is reportedly being counseled by former Trump administration officials Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon.


I believe the First Lady’s expression here is technically known as ‘the Melania’…

Reader Interactions

76Comments

  3. 3.

    Uncle Jeffy

    “…could not wear pants…”,  “….visiting Merde-a-Lago….”

    To quote Jon Stewart:  The sad part is not that you can’t make this stuff up – it’s that you don’t need to.

  4. 4.

    Carlo Graziani

    I wonder what Greenwald’s take on this is going to be? His head might explode trying to keep track of whether his enemy’s friend’s current ally’s enemy’s enemy…

  7. 7.

    NotMax

    No visit to fellow Brazilian Santos?

    Hey, when McCarthy flames out (FSM willing), Bolsonaro could be made Speaker. No requirement for citizenship there, AFAIK.

    Tanned, rested and petty.

    //

  9. 9.

    Suzanne

    This is so weird. The worst person in South America is hanging out with the worst person in North America. I wonder what they’ll do. Maybe play Candy Land.

  11. 11.

    kalakal

    Very excited to learn what kind of large, highly aggressive flightless birds live in Florida

    There’s a load of emus just down the road from me. They give off a very strong velociraptor vibe. With any luck he’ll be attacked by a pelican. Not because he’d be in any great danger, just because it would be hilarious. The best thing for pompous prats is to be made ridiculous

  12. 12.

    mrmoshpotato

    Bolsonaro will today flee Brazil for the USA, accompanied by his closest military allies, on one way tickets, reports Metropoles.

    We taking bets on when this bitchass gets deported back to Brazil?

  13. 13.

    RaflW

    The idea that Orangemandias is “running” a campaign is out at the furthest edge of credulity.

    Is he pulling in campaign cash from rubes and freaks? Yes. And making mouth-noises about going rogue if he isn’t the GOP nominee? Yes.

    But the guy can barely run a golf cart, much less something resembling a 50-state plan to win anything in ’24.

    Really. I just do not believe that this third run can pull together even the mirror-fogging has-beens of ’20 to staff him this time.

    Consiglieres who will cash paychecks, yeah. But we’re talking several orders of magnitude less alert and ‘useful’ than a Scaramooch.

  14. 14.

    NotMax

    Noted by their absence of late that there haven’t been any of the semi-regularly appearing Respite threads.

    Has B-J exceeded whatever their quota was for the year? In 2023, maybe the powers that be could snap up a giant economy pack.

    ;)

    @Geoduck

    Reluctantly have to agree. But a jackal can dream, can’t he?

  15. 15.

    Amir Khalid

    @Geoduck:

    I suppose Kevin will be elected by dafault, simply because no one else is foolish enough to seek the job. But I understand House Republicans also want a rule that they can vote him out at any time. I don’t think anyone could lead a House majority in those circumstances.

  18. 18.

    NotMax

    @eclare

    Yeah, but those are a horse of a different color from respite-y goodness and generally don’t lend themselves to wider ranging discussion hither and yon.

    From the perspective of purely idle curiosity, would welcome a thread about what, if anything, people received for the holidays and whether it/they turned out to be a hit or a swing and a miss.

    Also too, for those with kids, score any parental points with a super gift?

  20. 20.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @NotMax: with everything George Santos has lied about, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up being Bolsanoro’s lurve child.

  22. 22.

    NotMax

    @RaflW

    Takes time to produce and approve a specialized track of “It’s My Party and I’ll Cry Whine If I Want To” for the MAGA assemblages, don’tcha know.

    //

  24. 24.

    piratedan

    been musing about the upcoming House Speaker election and since we get to speculate I see at least three to four (if not more factions within the GOP….

    The Guilty Caucus – these folks know that they’re on the hook if the DOJ gets down to brass tacks and starts looking at who was coordinating with the J6 coup plans… Figure that in this group there has to be Biggs, Brooks, Perry, Jordan, Gosar and maybe a few others, like Roy and Greene and a few others, say maybe a group of 10 to 12 (and who knows, maybe more) and they will be highly motivated to shit can ANY cooperation with anybody else because they are at risk and will do their level best to cover their asses…

    The Trump Adjacents – They would happily throw in with the guilty caucus but only if they have the wind at their backs, sure they may be true believers, but weren’t considered important enough to be in the inner circle.  Say roughly a 125 here….

    The pragmatists and survivalists, composed of those who keep quiet, vote with the majority but have straws in the wind and could get squidgy if the DOJ starts indicting their peers.  Say maybe 25-30 here…

    The old Chamber of Commerce Crowd – guys who can’t believe that the inmates are running the asylum, and might be tempted to throw in with the Dems, depending upon what is offered and on the table.  Figure maybe 5 to 10 at most here…

    The wannabe power brokers – McCarthy, Scalise, Gosar, Good, Stefanik, and Greene

    The new guys – They are being courted by McCarthy hard because he NEEDS them all, especially if the never-Kevins are indeed numbering into the double digits.

    so how will it fall out?

    I think McCarthy fails on the first vote

    on the 2nd vote… the never-kevins convince Scalise to throw his name in… if he doesn’t… McCarthy still loses… Then I think the NK’s go to Stefanik and give her the same deal… I think she’s enough of a snake to do it….  If she doesn’t, my guess would be that the Chamber of Commerce guys approach the Dems if we get to round 4… if the GOP gets wind of it, then they may coalesce around KMcC, but with Scalise being the power behind the throne because that’s what he prefers it seems….

    I just hope that there will be plenty of speeches regarding just what they want to do (investigate the J6 Committee, issue spurious subpoenas, investigate Hunter Biden, bring in each administrator to delay them from getting work done chasing down spurious claims of wrongdoing and articles of impeachment).

  26. 26.

    sab

    @NotMax: We had decided to not give this holiday. Tired of the commercialized rat race. We ended up giving cash to our kids (since they need it) to let them buy the presents. And takeout lasagna instead of hosting holiday dinner. Then I broke the no gift rule and gave spouse a new flannel shirt.

  27. 27.

    James E Powell

    @piratedan:

    Do you really think we won’t know until they actually vote? Usually it’s a done deal & the vote is a formality.

    If this were happening to Nancy Pelosi . . .

  29. 29.

    piratedan

    @James E Powell: I keep hearing that McCarthy is still whipping votes, as I believe that the Guilty Caucus is blocking him right now from what I have been reading.  I get the feeling that the Guilty Caucus has the measure of KM and has found him “wanting” in a Darth Vader ‘I find your lack of faith… disturbing” kind of way.  I think they know that they can’t trust KM to act in “their” best interests if it means that KM gets to retain power.

  30. 30.

    LeftCoastYankee

    I couldn’t take Bolsonaro seriously in shorts.

    A nice gingham summer dress perhaps (let that rash breathe creepy man), but definitely not in shorts.

  32. 32.

    James E Powell

    @piratedan:

    We can only hope that his struggles continue. I thought that Stefanik might depose him. Perhaps she will put herself up for it if he fails to get the votes.

  33. 33.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @Amir Khalid: i don’t think science has gotten to that point. I really do think Bolsonaro and Santos do look similar enough physically to pass off as father and son.

     

    @Chetan Murthy: I think Trump is too much of a racist to have a non white child.

  37. 37.

    sab

    I am naive. Why can Bolsonaro even get into our country. Brazil isn’t Canada. Why could this horrible guy get in?

  38. 38.

    Chetan Murthy

    @sab: Just spitballin’ here, but:

    1. he’s still President of BR
    2. so he can visit on a diplomatic passport
    3. and he’s got a one-way ticket
    4. and while he’s here, he stops being President
    5. and who knows what happens after that

    Just  spitballin’.  Also, he’s just brazening it out.   I mean, we aren’t gonna piss off Brazil, one of our allies in this hemisphere, I guess.  Again, just spitballin’.

  39. 39.

    Amir Khalid

    When I hear the name Kevin, I’m always reminded of Catherine O’Hara in the Home Alone movies: “KEVIN!!” Except, of course, that Kevin McAllister has more fight in him than Kevin McCarthy ever will.

  44. 44.

    lowtechcyclist

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Perhaps he’s referencing this from a quote box in AL’s post:

    Reports of Bolsonaro’s decision to spend New Year’s in Florida come amid growing concerns that Lula’s inauguration is being targeted for terrorist violence, with incoming Justice Minister Flavio Dino announcing plans to bolster security for the event after authorities arrested a man allegedly in the midst of a bomb plot. “We’re not talking about a lone wolf,” Dino said during a December 26 TV interview. “There are powerful people behind this, and the police will investigate.”

  45. 45.

    Betty

    @sab: What surprises me is the one-way-ticket. Airlines require a two-way without proof you have authority to remain in the country you are flying to. Do all these guys have US visas?

  46. 46.

    MomSense

    I’m still laughing my ass off at how arrogant men keep thinking they are going to show that Greta Thunberg and end up showing their own asses.  Tate brought it to a new level.  I mean this is just amazing.  She destroyed him in every way possible in so few words.

  47. 47.

    mrmoshpotato

    @MomSense:

    I’m still laughing my ass off at how arrogant men keep thinking they are going to show that Greta Thunberg and end up showing their own asses. 

    It is hilarious.  The stupid, stupid assclowns…

  48. 48.

    Shalimar

    @Geoduck: I would say odds are 10% McCarthy, 85% Scalise, 5% anyone else.

    The current proposal is that 5 members will be able to trigger a confidence vote at any time, and the Gaetz faction rejects that.  Gaetz wants any 1 member to be able to trigger a vote.  Even 5 is an ungovernable mess.

    After a dozen failed votes, Scalise will make himself available as a compromise candidate.  Anything else is unexpected at this point.

  49. 49.

    Qrop Non Sequitur

    @Betty: Do all these guys have US visas?

    Trump does have a history of corruptly helping well-heeled individuals get themselves established in the US.

    Maybe the Russian market is drying up.

  50. 50.

    SFAW

    In addition to getting the coveted #50 (if I type fast enough): I am amazed that no one has made the obvious connection between American and Brazilian pantsless politicians. “Baud” is suspiciously close to “Baudsonaro.” Coincidence?

  51. 51.

    Qrop Non Sequitur

    @Shalimar: Gaetz wants any 1 member to be able to trigger a vote.  Even 5 is an ungovernable mess.

    Frankly, we’d be better off with the House spending the entire term having frivolous votes on its confidence in its own leadership than frivolous investigations into Hunter Biden’s legal but ethically sketchy business dealings, all while ignoring the actual mechanisms that allow this sort of corruption at all levels of government.

    Can any one to five Democrats trigger a confidence vote under this proposal?

  53. 53.

    Shalimar

    @Mai Naem mobile: Strom Thurmond had a black daughter.  There is no such thing as too racist to be a hypocrite.

    Trump probably would have pushed for an abortion if he had gotten someone pregnant, though.

  54. 54.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Shalimar:

    I would say odds are 10% McCarthy, 85% Scalise, 5% anyone else.

    <snip>

    After a dozen failed votes, Scalise will make himself available as a compromise candidate.  Anything else is unexpected at this point.

    So is that.  Whoever is Speaker is going to be pantsed on a regular basis. Scalise has enough brain cells to stay away from that.

  55. 55.

    Shalimar

    @Qrop Non Sequitur: Intetesting question.  I assume they want to make it so only Republicans can trigger a no-confidence vote, but I’m not sure it is possible to limit the House rule in that way.

  56. 56.

    Soprano2

    @Suzanne: I’m sure they’ll commiserate about how “those people just don’t understand, they’re better off if they’d just let me be a dictator, I really care about them” and other crap like that. “Oh, poor pitiful me” will probably be the theme of the evening.

  57. 57.

    Shalimar

    @lowtechcyclist: If Scalise did agree, he would serve without the rule allowing no-confidence votes.  I agree with you that no one should want to serve as Speaker this term.  It’s a minefield guaranteed to damage your reputation.  The question is whether Scalise’s ambition outweighs his intelligence.  And he didn’t get to be #2 in his caucus without a massive amount of ambition.

  58. 58.

    Soprano2

    @sab: No gifts at Christmas is strangely hard to actually do. I think it’s all the giving, it’s hard to not participate at least some. Spouse got me a white shirt and a desk calendar that I picked out, I got him a pair of jeans and a couple of sweatshirts that actually fit him. We’re getting ourselves a new TV when I get motivated to research them, because our current TV is over 10 years old and has the annoying habit of randomly turning off and on again when we’re watching it. We need it but I dread the setting up part, although it seems as easy as plug and play these days. I’m tempted to pay someone to do it just so I don’t have to.

  59. 59.

    sdhays

    @Qrop Non Sequitur: It would be hilarious if a drafting error did allow the opposition to trigger a confidence vote, just like the Senate invented the filibuster by accident when revising the rules.

  60. 60.

    BruceFromOhio

    @sab:

    We did a number of donation-was-made-on-your-behalf gifts instead of stuff, though there were a couple of nice bourbons under the tree to the delight of the dads. Our fam is going the same way tho, fewer and fewer ‘things’ in favor of simplicity.

  61. 61.

    Soprano2

    @Betty: I doubt he’s taking a commercial airline. It’s probably a private plane, although the story does reference a one-way ticket. I have a hard time seeing him flying a commercial airline.

  62. 62.

    Qrop Non Sequitur

    @sdhays: would be hilarious if a drafting error did allow the opposition to trigger a confidence vote

    Republicans can at least, this time, take comfort in the fact that our side respects the abstract notion of professionalism for the most part.

  65. 65.

    Matt McIrvin

    @BruceFromOhio: In my family there’s a bit of a culture clash going on: my side of the family has gone to “charitable donations instead of stuff” with a scaled-down celebration, but my wife’s family still does Christmas BIG, even with all the kids grown, and I feel like a heel if I don’t do my bit.

    My mother-in-law used to basically buy ALL the things on everyone’s Christmas list and force all other gift-givers off-list, but she at least doesn’t do that these days.

  66. 66.

    Geminid

    @Qrop Non Sequitur: I think whatever rule the majority comes up with will allow any Rep to make the motion. And of course everyone votes when a matter is put on the floor, so if the Democratic caucus is united a few Republican defectors can sink a rule or even put through a different rule.

    Some of this contention among Republicans is for caucus rules which (they hope) will govern members conduct in House  sessions. And some of the positions taken right now are bargaining chips relating to other issues.

    Since members are fighting this out not only between themselves but also publically in the broader  Republican sphere, there should be plenty of “tea” spilled between now and January 3rd (and on January 4 when they hope rules and the Speakership are resolved, and they want to crow or complain to reporters).

    Politico Playbook seems to be a good source for reporting of this type.

  67. 67.

    Ken

    @Qrop Non Sequitur: Trump does have a history of corruptly helping well-heeled individuals get themselves established in the US.

    Also of not-so-well-heeled individuals if I recall correctly, by filing the paperwork claiming there is absolutely no one capable of running a vacuum cleaner in Florida, so Mar-a-Lago just has to hire foreign workers as its housekeeping staff.

    If six months from now Bolsonaro is working the bar at the Smith-Brown wedding reception, remember you read it here first.

  68. 68.

    Ken

    @Qrop Non Sequitur: our side respects the abstract notion of professionalism for the most part.

    Yes, but if it only takes one to trigger the no-confidence process…

    And I would love it if that one were Nancy Pelosi, in full NFLTG mode.

  69. 69.

    Geminid

    @Shalimar: One has to “make hay as the sun shines,” even if its a crappy crop. This could be the only opportunity a Republican has to serve as Speaker during this decade. The Speaker (or Speakers?) may not come out of their tenure smelling like a rose. but they will still go down in history if only as a footnote.

  70. 70.

    Geminid

    @lowtechcyclist: I think the Speaker election January 3rd will take only one vote and possibly two. The Republican caucus may have to meet all night to get to this result though, and it may be their high water mark for unity this Congress.

  73. 73.

    Mike in NC

    Bolsonaro buys a one-way ticket to Palookaville (AKA Mar-A-Lago) to stew with another infamous sore loser. Welcome, newest Florida Man!

  75. 75.

    Boris Rasputin (the evil twin)

    @Mai Naem mobile: AS I  asked in an earlier thread, do we even have proof this clown is an actual person, and not a GQP hologram? I’d like to think that with every lie, he fades away just a but more, like a Cheshire cat, leaving behind not a smile, but a pile of court cases and a foul smell.

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