President Trump is seeking to intervene in a political fight roiling Brazil, demanding the country drop its prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro or face a 50 percent tariff on imports to the U.S.
“The way that Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the World during his Term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace,” Trump wrote in a letter to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. “This Trial should not be taking place. It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!”
Trump cited several other reasons for imposing the tariff, including rulings from the country’s Supreme Court on American social media companies and what he claimed was a trade deficit with Brazil. The U.S. in fact has a trade surplus with Brazil.
But his focus on Bolsonaro, who is facing criminal charges over an alleged coup following claims of a stolen election, is a particularly pointed step in a months-long series of tariff threats that have sought to twist the arms of foreign countries.
Trump and Bolsonaro have enjoyed a warm relationship, especially when the two men overlapped in office. Bolsonaro has been nicknamed “Trump of the Tropics,” and the two men effectively backed each other’s bid for reelection after their first terms — and when they lost, they both called into question the validity of their respective results.
The Senate Appropriations Committee sputtered Thursday as its consideration of the annual Justice Department funding bill was cut short due to a dispute over the Trump administration’s plans to relocate the FBI’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
President Trump is seeking to intervene in a political fight roiling Brazil, demanding the country drop its prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro or face a 50 percent tariff on imports to the U.S.
White House budget chief Russell Vought on Thursday accused Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell of mismanaging the central bank’s budget during renovations, adding to President Trump’s criticism of Powell.
The number of local journalists per capita in the United States has declined by about 75 percent on average since 2002, according to a report by the nonprofit Rebuild Local News and Muck Rack, an aggregator of journalism bylines.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release the June 2025 consumer price index, Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, next Tuesday at 8:30 am E.T.
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered an organizer of President Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, rally at the Ellipse to pay $2,000 per day until she complies with a subpoena for records about her involvement in the event. Read more
A federal judge blocked President Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship Thursday for any children whose citizenship status would be at risk if the order went into effect. Read more
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