President Donald Trump says he would approve of Flávio Bolsonaro coming to the United States, calling the Bolsonaro family "fine people" and describing Brazil's election as "really strange" and "terrible." He made the remarks to reporters at Joint Base Andrews after returning from a campaign trip to Texas. Flávio, a Brazilian senator and the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, lost the October 25 presidential runoff to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Trump had earlier said the vote looked "rigged" without offering evidence, although he also stressed that he did not endorse a candidate. Lula's government, for its part, has accused Washington of interfering in the election.

Flávio left Brazil even though the country's Supreme Court had ordered him to surrender his passports, amid an investigation into alleged money laundering, and he has not conceded the election. A U.S. State Department official has said the department will issue visas to him and his family, and reports say he has flown to the United States, though accounts of exactly where he is have varied. Flávio has not been convicted of anything, and the allegations are still under investigation. The episode raises big questions about whether he can leave under the court order, how Brazil will respond, and what it means for relations between Washington and Brasília. It also echoes his father's move to the U.S. after the 2022 election.