Analysis: Flávio meets with Trump; understand how Lula's government reacted

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) met on Tuesday (26) with President Donald Trump at the White House. The meeting, confirmed only after it took place, was used by the pre-candidate as an attempt to demonstrate political strength in the midst of a crisis that affects his pre-campaign for the Presidency of the Republic.

Flávio kept the meeting confidential until the last moment, with no guarantees that the meeting would actually take place. Confirmation only came late in the afternoon, after the agenda had ended.

Former federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro and businessman Paulo Figueiredo, described as responsible for articulating with the most ideological wing of the American government, also participated in the meeting.

Continue lendo

27/05/2026

End of the 6x1 scale: Chamber committee approves PEC that reduces working hours and increases days off

End of the 6x1 scale: Chamber committee approves PEC textThe special committee that discusses the Proposed Amendment t...

27/05/2026

Trump commented on Lula during a meeting with Flávio Bolsonaro

US President Donald Trump commented on Lula with Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) during the meeting with the senator and pre-...

27/05/2026

Santos will play friendlies in Europe during the World Cup break; see program

Santos announced, in the early afternoon of this Wednesday (27), that it will go on a tour to Portugal during the foot...

Themes covered and the context of the visit
The senator stated that Trump asked about his father, Jair Bolsonaro (PL), right at the beginning of the conversation. The pre-candidate said he addressed topics such as rare earths, tariffs and combating organized crime. He also stated that he had asked Trump for factions such as the Red Command and the PCC to be classified by the United States as terrorist groups.

"We have one in four Brazilians living in areas that are dominated by criminal factions, which impose their own rules, factions that are types of parallel government in many areas of Brazil, and we are going to free these people", stated the pre-candidate.

CNN International analyst Lourival Sant'Anna considered that the meeting was, in practice, a photo opportunity, and not a formal meeting with discussion of ideas. "It was just a photo opportunity, it wasn't a meeting, it wasn't a discussion, it wasn't a presentation of ideas", he assessed.

Top Cifras

Toque agora.

1 Sem Saber Pique Novo

2 Imperfeita Bia Frazo

3 Te Exaltamos CCLN Music

4 Samba Italiano Demônios da Garoa

According to him, documents were delivered on the three topics mentioned by Flávio, which would act as elements of rapprochement between the pre-candidate and the American government. Lourival also highlighted that, from a geopolitical point of view, Trump seeks a good relationship with Brazil regardless of who governs the country, but that this relationship would be "smoother and more lubricated" with the senator's positions.

Reaction from the Lula government
The Director of Journalism at CNN in Brasília, Daniel Rittner, reported that the Palácio do Planalto made a considerable effort to ignore the meeting and not overestimate it. In the assessment of Itamaraty and Planalto, the meeting speaks mainly to the bases of Bolsonarism and to the more classic right-wing voter.

Rittner also pointed out a contradiction in Flávio's pre-campaign: while allies such as Rogério Marinho (PL-RN) have worked to present him as a "moderate Bolsonarist", the presence of Eduardo Bolsonaro and Paulo Figueiredo alongside the pre-candidate evokes a different image of the movement.

"It's as if the speech of political professionals aimed at voters in the center was made and an appeal was made to voters on the more radical right", he analyzed.

Electoral value and the crisis with Cláudio Castro
CNN Politics analyst Caio Junqueira classified the meeting as "a breather" for Flávio's pre-campaign, which has accumulated around two weeks of negative agenda. According to him, the pre-candidate lost between five and six points in voting intention polls - the equivalent of approximately seven million voters - due to the crisis generated by the senator's relationship with former banker Daniel Vorcaro.

"It is not a meeting that defines the election, far from it", pondered Junqueira, highlighting that Flávio still faces a crisis of confidence in the political class, agribusiness, the financial market and the productive sector.

On the same day, the former governor of Rio de Janeiro Cláudio Castro was once again the target of the PF (Federal Police) in the investigation into the R$3 billion transferred from RioPrevidência to Banco Master.

This is the second operation against Castro in less than 15 days, deepening the political crisis in Rio de Janeiro.

Flávio's allies complain that Castro's resistance to giving up his pre-candidacy for the Senate delays the definition of the ticket in the state and keeps the pre-candidate without a consolidated platform in his own electoral base.

Statements about trade agreements and the "shield of the Americas"
CNN anchor Thais Herédia questioned Flávio Bolsonaro's (PL-RJ) statement that, if elected, he would close trade deals with Trump that Brazil has not been able to negotiate to date. For her, the statement demonstrates a lack of knowledge about how foreign trade works and existing agreements within Mercosur.

"This statement has no substance", he assessed. Herédia also recalled that the business community most linked to the economic agenda never accepted Flávio as a candidate prepared to manage the country.

Regarding the so-called "shield of the Americas", Lourival Sant'Anna explained that the initiative was formalized at a summit held in Miami, around February this year, with the participation of right-wing presidents from the region. The proposal involves militarization of the fight against organized crime, with the classification of criminal factions as terrorist organizations.

The analyst warned that this approach "is quite dangerous", as it opens up space for the United States to justify military actions under the pretext of confronting terrorist groups.

Daniel Rittner added that the Brazilian Armed Forces view this initiative "with great suspicion", as they understand that this type of militarization brings more problems than advantages.

The texts generated by artificial intelligence on CNN Brasil are made based on video cuts from the newspapers in its programming. All information is investigated and checked by journalists. The final text is also reviewed by the CNN journalism team. Click here to find out more.

Source: CNN