Many Americans have not heard about an absolutely based politician in Brazil. His name: Jair Bolsonaro. He’s the currently the president of Brazil. Some call him the “Trump of the Tropics”, and that comparison is pretty accurate. Bolsonaro and Trump are both politically-incorrect politicians in the Western Hemisphere. The similarities don’t end there. That’s what this post is for: to show some of the similarities between these two guys.
The reason that I wanted to talk about Bolsonaro is simple: Brazil and the United States are fairly similar countries. I’ll probably go into more detail about that reality on another post. Nevertheless, this post will first seek to compare Trump and Bolsonaro. Then, we’ll end with some remarkably similar quotes from the two Presidents.
Who is Bolsonaro?
Brazil elected Bolsonaro as their 38th President in October 2018. He is considered to be a right-wing populist president who’s tough on crime and is a very macho guy in general. Bolsonaro also ran on a heavily social conservative, pro-free-market, and anti-corruption platform.
Similar to President Trump, Bolsonaro is very much a political outsider. His personality and values do not mesh well with the leftist political establishment in Rio. However, Bolsonaro did have some prior political experience before becoming president of Brazil (unlike President Trump).
Bolsonaro first gained public attention in the late 1980s. As a member of Brazil’s military, he wrote a critical article in a notable magazine about the low wages for Brazilian military officers. Several years later, Bolsonaro was elected to the Brazilian Congress
Prior to Bolsonaro’s presidency, corruption was running rampant in Brazilian politics. Of Brazil’s last three presidents, one was impeached (Rouseff), another was convicted for corruption (Lula), and the last president was arrested for corruption (Temer). Bolsonaro stood as a stark contrast to the corrupt, far-left socialists that ran Brazil’s federal government. What’s more, these same corrupt politicians helped plunge Brazil into an economic crisis before Bolsonaro’s election in 2018.
Like I said, Bolsonaro is a tough hombre. The dude suffered a serious stab wound only a month before the Brazil’s 2018 Presidential election. His stab-wound was life-threatening and caused Bolsonaro to lose 40% of his own blood. In the United States, Joe Biden broke his foot playing with his dog in the shower.
I wanted to end this post by driving home the similarities between Trump and Bolsonaro. So, here are just some quotes from both of these presidents:
Quotes
-Bolsonaro 2018 campaign slogan: “Brazil above everything, God above everyone.”
-Trump 2016 campaign slogan: “Make America Great Again”
– Bolsonaro: “I believe that a strong man makes a strong country.”
-Trump: “We need a great president.”
-Bolsonaro: “Every time I touch a wound, an army of influential people turns against me.“
-Trump: “In reality they’re not after me, they’re after you. I’m just in the way.”
-Bolsonaro: “Real democracy is food on the table, the ability to plan your life, the ability to walk on the street without getting mugged.”
-Trump: “Together, we will have one great American future. Our potential is unlimited. We will be one people, under one God, saluting one American flag.”
-Bolsonaro: “We are going to unite the people, rescue the family, respect religions and our Judeo-Christian tradition, combat gender ideology, conserving our values.”
-Trump: “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, “Get that son of a b*tch off the field right now. Out. He’s fired. He’s fired!”
-Bolsonaro: “China is taking over Brazil, and that is worrying. They are investing in mining, agriculture, energy, ports, and airports.”
-Trump: “China is neither an ally or a friend — they want to beat us and own our country.”
-Bolsonaro: “I used to be called Captain Chainsaw, now I am Nero, setting the Amazon aflame.“
-Trump tweet: “@ariannahuff is unattractive both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man- he made a good decision.”
-Bolsonaro: “So what? I’m sorry. What do you want me to do? My name’s Messiah, but I can’t work miracles.“
-Trump: “Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest -and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure, it’s not your fault.”
-Bolsonaro: “We even have a gay pride march and we’re thinking of having a heterosexual pride also. You’ll not be invited.”