President Donald Trump clapped Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on the back Tuesday for tossing the phrase “fake news” into his remarks.
Trump was mid-ramble about how unfairly American outlets treat him. “You look at the news and you look at the newscast,” he said. “I call it fake news. I’m very proud to hear the President use the term ‘fake news,'” he added, gesturing to Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro was a friendly face for Trump at the press conference, also proclaiming that the American President would, without a doubt, win again in 2020.
Trump applauds Bolsonaro for using the term “fake news” pic.twitter.com/CsoGur8oBD
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) March 19, 2019
Bolsonaro isn’t the only one who’s adopted Trump’s pet phrase. Strongman Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has picked up the practice, denouncing reporter Maria Ressa, who has been publishing unflattering stories about his abuses, as leading a “fake outlet.” In that case, Ressa has been forced to fight Duterte’s many efforts to toss her in prison.
Guess he still has not pivoted…Sad
It’s hard to be worse than Trump, but Bolsonaro manages.
Hey ABC, NBC, CBS news, keep doing your normalization and ‘both sides have opinions’ thing. Soon you’ll be worried about more than your contract coming up next year. Ask your Russian colleagues how much fun it is.
This morning’s Economist daily email briefing title was awesome:
Alter ego trip: Bolsonaro meets Trump
Today will be the first encounter between two populist presidents who share a taste for incendiary tweets, nationalist rhetoric and reactionary policies on crime and social issues. Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro are expected to keep ramping up pressure on Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela, sign a deal allowing American rocket launches from Brazil’s north coast and announce the end of visa requirements for American tourists to Brazil. Less likely will be American support for Brazil’s bid for OECD membership or concrete progress on economic relations. Trade between the countries is just $100bn a year, a sixth of that between America and Mexico. Mr Bolsonaro kicked off his three-day visit by dining with conservative ideologues at the Brazilian embassy where he railed against communism and spoke of the need to strengthen democracy in the West. “It’s the first time in a long time that a Brazilian president who’s not anti-American arrives in Washington,” he tweeted.
cult45 is inducting a new cult affiliate into the arena.