WTF Happened With Trump’s Meeting With Brazilian President?

Donald Trump was scheduled to meet Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva—usually referred to as Lula—at 11:15 a.m. Thursday in front of the press.

That did not happen, and for three hours, media members stood around wondering where the hell the two leaders of the largest countries in the Western Hemisphere were.

At 2 p.m., NewsNation reported that Lula had left the White House after meeting with Trump for about two hours. “This was a meeting that was supposed to be opened up,” host Nichole Berlie said. “But that did not happen.... We’ll have to see what the White House says.”

NewsNation reporter Kellie Meyer, stationed outside the White House, said it may have been Lula who was responsible for the secrecy.

“The president of Brazil said he wanted to wait until after the two met to then meet with the press in front of the cameras,” Meyer said. “They had lunch, and now we learn that he is leaving. He will speak to the press at the embassy, but he won’t be doing it here alongside President Trump. We do know that the two didn’t quite see eye to eye coming into this meeting, so maybe it is no surprise that they may not be going in front of the cameras.”

Lula is a leftist, and he and Trump have had an unsurprisingly contentious relationship over the years. Trump has repeatedly expressed support for Jair Bolsonaro, the right-wing former Brazilian president who was convicted of planning a coup in order to remain in power.

In July 2025, Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on Brazil in order to pressure Lula’s administration to drop the charges against Bolsonaro. Lula stuck to his guns, however, and Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison in September. The Supreme Court deemed American tariffs against Brazil (and everywhere else, for that matter) unconstitutional in February.

Shortly after Trump implemented the tariffs, Lula decried the weakening American democracy during his address to the U.N. General Assembly.

The drama’s not over, though: Bolsonaro’s son Flavio is running for president this year, and will look to free his fascistic father if he wins. Lula is also running for a second term, despite being 80 years old.

While Trump and his team are often late to their scheduled White House events, having the meeting behind closed doors after telling the press it would be open is significantly stranger.

After an afternoon of silence, Trump released a vague and surprisingly short statement on Truth Social at 2:22 p.m.: “Just concluded my meeting with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the very dynamic President of Brazil. We discussed many topics, including Trade and, specifically, Tariffs. The meeting went very well. Our Representatives are scheduled to get together to discuss certain key elements. Additional meetings will be scheduled over the coming months, as necessary.”

Earlier reports suggested the meeting would be focused on organized crime groups in Latin America. Speaking to reporters in Portuguese at the Brazilian Embassy, Lula said the two men had discussed organized crime, critical minerals, and trade. Lula also said he jokingly told Trump not to reject the visas of any of Brazil’s soccer players before this summer’s World Cup, and that Trump laughed.