Trump Says He 'Would Approve' of Flávio Bolsonaro Entering U.S. as Sources Place Him in Florida

Since Flávio Bolsonaro lost Sunday's presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and left Brazil ahead of a Supreme Court passport deadline, the story has shifted from the State Department's visa pledge to the president's own endorsement of his arrival.

Trump spoke to reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews after returning from a campaign trip to Texas. Asked about Bolsonaro coming to the U.S., he said: "Well, I would approve." He added that he had heard Bolsonaro was in Argentina.

"I think they're fine people," Trump said of the Bolsonaro family. "The election was very strange, and I thought it was terrible. It's gotten bad reviews. You look at what happened to their market."

He also said he had not picked a side. "I know them both. I know Lula. I know Flavio a little bit. I know the father very well." Of Jair Bolsonaro, the candidate's father, he said: "The father was treated really badly. I thought, but I wasn't involved. That's Brazil. It's a different country."

Where Bolsonaro is

Trump's Argentina remark does not match what other sources describe. Two sources familiar with the matter told ABC News that Bolsonaro has landed in the United States. A source close to the family told Reuters he landed in Florida but would not say where. The BBC has reported he is in Miami.

Argentina's government said it had "no record" of Bolsonaro entering the country. That came after the Argentine outlet Infobae reported that he had left Brazil through Argentina. A spokesperson for Argentina's Ministry of Security also denied reports that the senator had entered the country.

Brazilian authorities said earlier on Tuesday that they were unaware of his whereabouts and were investigating whether he fled to the U.S. Two U.S. officials told ABC News the Trump administration had been tracking his plans and expected him to try to leave Brazil for the U.S.

Two sources told Reuters his passports were cancelled after the deadline expired.

The court order and the investigations

The sealed Supreme Court order was issued Sunday and served on Bolsonaro on Monday outside the house where his father is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for attempting a coup. The deadline to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports expired at noon Tuesday. According to Reuters, the court cited concerns that he could flee, along with his "significant financial resources."

Bolsonaro is under investigation by Brazil's Supreme Court for alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion in two cases. In one, he is accused of using a sports betting company to launder fraudulent deductions from government pensions paid to senior citizens. In the other, he is accused of accepting millions of dollars from a disgraced banker. Brazilian authorities also cite a probe tied to the production of a film about his father. He has denied wrongdoing.

His campaign manager, Rogério Marinho, said he had not spoken to the candidate since early Tuesday morning. "I received a text message from him, he said he wanted to take a break and then he would talk to us. That's the only message I had from him," Marinho said. A source close to Bolsonaro told CNN he left because he feared arrest.

Lula's response

Lula said he had just learned of the departure and called it shameful. His position is that the senator should have stayed in Brazil to prove his innocence. Lula has also accused the U.S. of colluding with the Bolsonaro family to bring them back to power, and ran ads accusing Trump of wanting to "colonize" Brazil.

Trump's own comments cut both ways. On Monday he said the election "looked like another rigged election, frankly," and offered no evidence. Pressed on whether he would do something about the election, he answered: "I am not running Brazil, I'm running the USA." He has not endorsed Bolsonaro, though he called him "a smart young man who loves his country" after a visit to the Oval Office.

Concession still pending

Bolsonaro began the week by seeking to annul the result after an evening of chaos at some polling places that led authorities to extend voting by two hours. On Monday he urged the electoral court to investigate alleged election fraud and nullify the candidacies of Lula and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin. No evidence of fraud has been presented. His Liberal Party said Monday it acknowledged Lula's victory, but Bolsonaro himself has not conceded. He has said: "I wasn't the one who lost; the system won."

To overturn the result, Bolsonaro would have to present evidence of fraud affecting Lula's 4.4 million-vote margin and convince the eight-member electoral court before the results are certified on Dec. 18. His Senate term expires Jan. 31, 2027, which will also cost him special jurisdiction at the Supreme Court.

The family history is relevant. After losing in 2022, Jair Bolsonaro went to Florida and returned three months later. His brother Eduardo, who lives in Texas, was convicted in absentia in June of illegally lobbying the Trump administration and sentenced to four years. A warrant was recently issued for his arrest. Eduardo had publicly urged Flávio to leave Brazil if he lost.

Washington now has a visa decision on the record, a president's verbal approval, and a Brazilian court order that was apparently ignored. Bolsonaro has not said whether he intends to return, or when he will address the result he has yet to accept.