Trump reacts to Bolsonaro’s conviction: ‘They did to him what they tried to do to me’

By Jadson Lima – From Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – The president of the United States (U.S.), Donald Trump, stated this Thursday, 11, that what was done to former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) was the same as what they tried to do to him after the invasion of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The head of state spoke to the press at the White House after the First Panel of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) formed a majority to convict Bolsonaro and seven aides for taking part in a criminal organization that attempted to overturn the result of the 2022 election.

Trump said he had watched the trial and declared he was very familiar with the case. He stated that the Brazilian ex-president performed positively as a leader and expressed surprise at the outcome of the trial in the STF. When asked by reporters about the possibility of imposing sanctions on Brazilian authorities in response to the court’s decision, the Republican did not give a direct answer.

“I watched the trial, I know it very well. As a foreign leader, I thought he was a good president. It is very surprising that this happened. It is very similar to what they tried to do to me, but they didn’t succeed at all. He was a good man, and I don’t see this happening,” Trump said.

On Thursday afternoon, 11, the STF convicted Jair Bolsonaro and his top aides for the crimes of attempted violent abolition of the Democratic State of Law, attempted coup d’état, participation in an armed criminal organization, aggravated damage, and deterioration of protected heritage, aggravated by the fact that he was considered the leader of the criminal organization.

Alongside the former president, seven of Bolsonaro’s aides were also convicted:

• Augusto Heleno: former head of the Institutional Security Cabinet;
• Anderson Torres: former minister of Justice and Public Security;
• Mauro Cid: lieutenant colonel and former aide-de-camp to Bolsonaro;
• Braga Netto: general, former Defense minister, and defeated vice-presidential candidate in 2022;
• Paulo Sérgio Nogueira: general and former Army commander;
• Almir Garnier: former Navy commander;
• Alexandre Ramagem: former head of Abin and current deputy, benefited by a Chamber decision and tried for three crimes.

With his statement, Trump drew parallels with the proceedings he faced in the U.S. before returning to the presidency in 2024. A year earlier, in August 2023, U.S. authorities filed a criminal case against the Republican, accusing him of interfering in the 2020 electoral process.

The accusation included events from January 6, 2021, when he spoke near the White House just hours before supporters stormed the Capitol. At the time, followers of the then-defeated president in an election won by Democrat Joe Biden managed to delay, for hours, the certification of the presidential election results.

After the November 2024 election, special prosecutor Jack Smith requested the case’s dismissal. The request was based on the interpretation that a sitting president cannot be criminally prosecuted. The court accepted the request, and the case was closed.

Translated from Portuguese by Gustô Alves