Did the president talk to Bolsonaro as the Brazilian plotted to escape? Trump said yes, but the White House isn’t so sure.
An amazing new Trump controversy, Part I of II:
- Friday night: Jair Bolsonaro’s son summons a crowd to their family home
- Later Friday night: Bolsonaro takes a soldering iron to his ankle bracelet days before starting a lengthy prison
- Saturday morning: Bolsonaro is re-arrested
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-11-25T18:35:57.718Z
An amazing new Trump controversy, Part II of II:
- Saturday afternoon: Trump says he spoke to Bolsonaro the night before and planned to see him “in the very near futureâ€
- Monday afternoon: The Trump White House isn’t sure whether Trump actually had the conversation he referenced two days earlier
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-11-25T18:36:44.390Z
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/white-house-trump-bolsonaro-phone-call
On Friday night, Bolsonaro’s son publicly encouraged the former president’s supporters to come to his home for some kind of previously unannounced protest. Hours later, early Saturday morning, law enforcement officials were notified that Bolsonaro’s ankle monitor had been tampered with. Though it was still on, Brazil’s former president had taken a soldering iron to his tracking device after his son had summoned a crowd to the family’s home.
Bolsonaro’s lawyers said he wasn’t trying to flee (notwithstanding earlier efforts to find a country to escape to) but rather, the former Brazilian president felt unwell because of the medications he was on.
So according to his own defenders, this guy took a soldering iron to his ankle monitor because some drugs left him confused.
And it was around this time that the story got even weirder.
Trump says he spoke to Bolsonaro last night and plans to meet with him soon
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-11-22T17:27:27.585Z
......Of course, given the Brazilian was on house arrest and poised to begin a lengthy prison sentence, it was far from clear how, exactly, Trump intended to hang out with him. For all intents and purposes, it would suggest that Trump either was going to make a previously unannounced trip to Brazil, or the American president expected Bolsonaro to make his way to the U.S.
But wait, there’s more.
So let’s recap:
Friday night: Bolsonaro’s son summons a crowd to their family home.
Later Friday night: Bolsonaro takes a soldering iron to his ankle monitor.
Saturday mornin[g/b]: Bolsonaro is re-arrested.
Saturday afternoon: Trump says he spoke to Bolsonaro the night before and planned to see the Brazilian leader “in the very near future.”
Monday afternoon: The White House isn’t sure whether Trump actually had the conversation he publicly referenced two days earlier.
I can appreciate on a personal level how easy it is to grow inured to the madness surrounding our incumbent American president. But even by Trump standards, this one’s a doozy.
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