Fetterman says President Trump’s claims of 2020 election fraud are a ‘distraction’
Sen. John Fetterman disputed President Donald Trump’s claims that China was interfering in the 2020 election.
Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to USA TODAY on July 26 that two Trump administration officials were denied visas from Brazil ahead of a trip scheduled for this week.
The department said Riley M. Burns, assistant secretary of state, and Samuel Samson, assistant secretary of the state department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, were denied visas on July 24 for travel scheduled to begin on July 27. The ministry did not specify the reason for the visa refusal.
News outlets reported that Brazilian officials viewed the planned visit as an effort to cast doubt on the integrity of the country’s electoral system ahead of October’s presidential election. An anonymous Brazilian official told Reuters the denial was based on “evidence of renewed attempts to politicize the situation and undermine the electoral system.”
The Washington Post, which first reported the visa denial, quoted an unnamed Brazilian official as saying the trip was a “ruse” that was “incompatible with Brazil’s democracy.”
The State Department told USA TODAY that Burns and Samson will travel to Brazil to discuss election integrity, religious freedom and freedom of expression with government leaders and civil society members. In an email, a department spokesperson called accusations of undermining the election “baseless lies.”
The newspaper described Samson as a champion of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy who has cultivated “connections with right-wing groups.”
Earlier this month, President Trump imposed 25% tariffs on some imports from Brazil, which Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called “unfair” in an opinion column published in the Post on July 26.
Son of convicted ex-president to run for president of Brazil
Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro will face incumbent Lula in the October 4 election.
Bolsonaro is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted of plotting to overturn the 2022 presidential election he lost to Lula and retain power. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Jair Bolsonaro echoed President Trump’s claims before and after the 2020 US presidential election, and repeatedly questioned the integrity of Brazil’s electoral system ahead of the 2022 election.
At a July 21 event attended by dozens of diplomats, Flavio Bolsonaro reiterated his criticism of Brazil’s electoral system. Brazilian senators have called on foreign governments to send observers to watch their elections, claiming that Brazil’s electronic voting machines are manufactured by Smartmatic, a company that Trump allies have linked to allegations of election manipulation in Venezuela.
“I won’t go into further details, but I would like to note that many of the machines used in Brazil’s elections are from the same company,” he said.
Both Smartmatic and Brazil’s electoral court told Reuters that the company does not supply voting machines for Brazil. Flavio Bolsonaro said in a statement to Reuters that he had no doubts about the “integrity of Brazil’s voting system.”
President Trump said in a prime-time address earlier this month that there was a “specific conspiracy” to manipulate Venezuela’s 2020 presidential election in favor of incumbent President Nicolas Maduro. However, a CIA report released to coincide with the speech concluded that while Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chávez “have shown a sustained interest and perhaps developed some capabilities” in manipulating voting machines, the intelligence community “has not conclusively confirmed that large-scale electronic fraud was successfully carried out in any particular Venezuelan election.”
According to the New York Times, Samson and Burns were scheduled to meet with Flavio Bolsonaro.
Brazil’s Bolsonaro campaign summons ambassador after Trump supporters attack government
Brazil recalled its ambassador to Argentina on July 26 after Argentine President Javier Millay used his visit to criticize Brazil’s leadership and judiciary, the Foreign Ministry confirmed to USA TODAY.
In her election campaign with the younger Bolsonaro, Millay called Lula a “prisoner” and labeled Brazil’s government “socialist trash.”
The self-described radical liberal is one of President Trump’s closest Latin American allies. In October, the administration offered Argentina an economic lifeline in the form of a $20 billion currency swap as Argentina faces an economic crisis due to instability in the Argentine peso.
In a statement to USA TODAY, the Foreign Ministry called Milley’s comments an “insult.” The decision to recall Ambassador Julio Vitelli was made after Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira consulted with Lula, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources.
Brazil and Argentina have virtually no diplomatic relations. Millay did not request an official meeting with Lula during either visit to Brazil. Brazil’s leaders have shown no interest in hosting him.
A Datafolha poll released on July 24 showed Lula leading 48% to 43% in the head-to-head runoff.
Contributed by: Reuters
