“Donald Trump did not take sides in the Brazilian presidential election.” — Donald Trump. Our verdict: Unverified.
Donald Trump made the claim on 28 October 2026, in comments reported by The Independent about the Brazilian presidential election and the Bolsonaro family.
Our verdict
Unverified
We cannot confirm or refute whether Donald Trump took sides in the Brazilian presidential election. He said publicly that he did not take sides, but he also called the election 'rigged', and the available evidence does not settle whether that amounts to taking sides.
Know something that settles it? Send us evidenceWhat we found
We reached an unverifiable verdict because the public record does not clearly show whether Donald Trump took sides in Brazil's 2022 presidential election. The Independent reports that Trump said publicly he did not take sides. However, CBS News reports that Trump characterised the election as 'rigged' without evidence, which echoed Jair Bolsonaro's narrative and could be seen as taking sides. CBS News also says Trump did not give a full endorsement of Jair Bolsonaro in the runoff. A BBC report on Flávio Bolsonaro's post-election actions and statements contains nothing about Trump's involvement. Taken together, these reports do not prove neutrality, and they do not prove that Trump formally backed a candidate. We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute the claim. If you have evidence, such as campaign records or direct communications, please send it to us.
The evidence
1 of 3 sources contradict the claim; none support it.
- Background
The Independent reports that Donald Trump stated publicly that he did not take sides in the Brazilian election. [1]
- Contradicts the claim
CBS News reports that Donald Trump did not give a full endorsement of Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 runoff, but he did publicly call the election 'rigged'. [2]
- Background
A BBC report on Flávio Bolsonaro's post-election actions and statements contains no information about Donald Trump's involvement or statements. [3]
What we could not confirm
- Whether Donald Trump's 'rigged' comment amounted to taking sides or was only a comment on the election process.
- Whether Donald Trump or his campaign made private communications or formal endorsements during the 2022 Brazilian election cycle.
- Whether any primary records, such as campaign documents or direct statements, show Trump's position on the election.
How we checked
We looked at news reports from The Independent, CBS News and the BBC about Donald Trump, the Bolsonaro family and the Brazilian presidential election. We checked whether these reports showed a formal endorsement, a public statement of neutrality, or any other clear sign of taking sides. We reviewed 3 relevant sources.
Sources
- [1]www.independent.co.uk · Trump calls Bolsonaro family ‘fine people’ as defeated Brazil candidate flees to US
- [2]cbsnews.com · Flávio Bolsonaro leaves Brazil, lands in U.S. after losing presidential election
- [3]bbc.com · Flávio Bolsonaro calls himself 'leader of Brazil' after election loss
- [4]Photo: Daniel Torok / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Help us check this claim
We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute this claim. If you know of an official record, dataset, transcript or report that settles it, send us the link. We review every submission and update this fact check when the evidence changes the picture.
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