What they say: “Frankly, this looks like another rigged election,” Trump told reporters Monday.
- He added: “Elections have to be uncontestable, and that seemed very bad to me.”
- The White House did not respond to Axios’ request for comment.
Point of friction: Bolsonaro told reporters it was “impossible to recognize the result of this election in the context of how these things happened,” according to a translation. He also pledged to seek the annulment of the results.
- Brazilian The two-hour extension of Sunday’s vote by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin fueled Bolsonaro’s claims. Zanin was previously Lula’s lawyer.
- But the Bolsonaro and Lula camps demanded more time for voters. Lula’s team requested the extension due to public transportation concerns, while Bolsonaro requested additional time in some states due to weather conditions, Bloomberg reported.
- The extension would have been granted when many polling stations were already closing their doors. Several media outlets noted that the decision risked paving the way for candidates to contest the results, although Brazil’s electoral system is widely recognized for its reliability.
Zoom out: Several prominent voices in the online MAGA movement have supported Bolsonaro’s refusal to accept the election results, and some have urged the Trump administration to act.
- “The math just isn’t math,” podcaster Benny Johnson said on a Monday edition of his show where he criticized the election results. He was joined by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who said Brazil was like “a banana republic.”
- Former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon urged the administration to cut ties with Brazil on his show “War Room,” adding, “if we don’t act…it’s going to happen next Tuesday here in this country.”
- Jack Posobiec echoed Bannon’s unfounded claims, writing on X: “Look at what the left in Brazil is doing in broad daylight. Do you really think she wouldn’t do it in the United States?
- Andrew Kolvet, who produced “The Charlie Kirk Show,” said the United States should “quietly put pressure on them behind the scenes” and not accept the outcome. He further urged Bolsonaro supporters not to show up for work and to “gather in the streets.”
What we’re looking at: The attention to Bolsonaro’s loss comes as MAGA activists have pushed Trump to take extraordinary measures, such as martial law, if they believe the U.S. election is rigged, Axios’ Brittany Gibson reports.
- Trump has continued to fuel election denialism, while his political opponents have accused his administration of trying to intimidate voters and election officials.
- Meanwhile, the Justice Department has waged an aggressive pre-election offensive, including a preemptive request that could delay the certification of Alaska’s Senate results and a lawsuit against California over alleged noncitizens receiving ballots.
Go further: Trump allies fall in two elections as Netanyahu faces next test
Gn headline
