Trump Endorses Anti-LGBTQ Bolsonaro in Brazil as Lula Leads by 10 Points

Former President Donald Trump has expressed his full-throated endorsement for far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is trailing by double digits in his reelection campaign.

Bolsonaro, who Trump referred to as "Tropical Trump," is down 10 points to Workers' Party candidate and former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in first-round polling ahead of the October 2 election, according to a Genial/Quaest poll released on Wednesday. That is a 2-point drop in da Silva's lead, now 44 percent to 34 percent, compared to last week's survey.

A total of 2,000 people were surveyed between September 2 and 5, in interviews conducted at voters' homes in São Paulo. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 2.4 points.

"President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil...has done a GREAT job for the wonderful people of Brazil," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "When I was President of the U.S., there was no other country leader who called me more than Jair seeking Tariff & Tax cuts, Trade Renegotiations, Strengthened Drug & Border Policies (to put the "bad guys" in jail!), Military Help, & more.

"President Bolsonaro loves Brazil beyond all else. He is a wonderful man, and has my Complete & Total Endorsement!!!"

In an expected run-off vote between the two candidates, da Silva lost two percentage points but still maintains a 51 percent to 39 percent polling lead.

Felipe Nunes, director of Quaest, has indicated on Twitter that the race may be even closer than polls indicate. He said Bolsonaro's increasing numbers are a result of improved support among female and Catholic voting blocs.

Brazil's economy remains the greatest concern among voters, Nunes added, followed by health care (18%), violence and social problems (15% each) and corruption (5%).

Bolsonaro has a history of anti-LGBTQ actions and comments, including the removal of LGBTQ rights from human rights ministry considerations and mentions of homosexuality from textbooks. In 2019, he told a reporter that he had a "homosexual face."

On Wednesday tens of thousands of Brazilians participated in rallies in Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro as part of a bicentennial celebration, the Associated Press reported. Military displays conducted by armed forces members coincided with the attendance of Bolsonaro, who used his pulpit in Rio to compare da Silva to autocratic leftist leaders in Venezuela and Nicaragua—calling the man who served from 2003 to 2010 "a gangster."

"We will have a much better administration with us being elected, with the grace of God," Bolsonaro said during a speech.

Da Silva reportedly responded by saying he never used the nation's independence days to aid him politically.

"Brazil needs better luck. It needs a government that takes care of people," da Silva said. "A person who talks about harmony, love, economic growth, industrialization, job creation, pay increases. Brazil needs love, not hatred."

In 2018 Bolsonaro defeated leftist opponent and former Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad to become the country's 38th president. Bolsonaro received over 55 percent of the vote from nearly 150 million people.