Former President Donald Trump voiced his concerns regarding Brazil’s recent presidential election outcome, labeling the entire event as a “bad looked” and suggesting it resembled “another rigged election” in South America. The election stirred debates due to a last-minute ruling by a Supreme Court judge who previously served as an attorney for leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who ultimately defeated right-wing candidate Flávio Bolsonaro in the runoff.
Trump expressed, “Elections have to be indisputable and it looked very bad to me,” as he spoke to reporters outside the White House. He further added, “I thought it had a very bad look, the way it was tabulated,” and emphasized, “It looked like another rigged election, frankly.”
On election day, when approached about the contest, he commented, “I don’t want to get into that subject, but we are monitoring.”
Previously, Trump had remarked on Flávio Bolsonaro’s first-round performance, calling it “a great victory. Close, but a very big victory. Incredible, actually,” foreseeing “a very close election.” Although the U.S. State Department was set to issue a statement acknowledging the results, it was withheld after Bolsonaro opted not to concede and sought annulment.
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Trump on the election in Brazil: "It looked like another rigged election, frankly. I didn't take sides, but it was a terrible look for the world. Elections have to be indisputable — and it looked very bad to me." pic.twitter.com/ei96yyNQW9
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) October 26, 2026
Overall, Lula secured around 51.79 percent of valid votes, totaling approximately 64 million, against Bolsonaro’s 48.21 percent, which was about 59 million votes, granting Lula a victory margin of roughly 4.4 million.
The runoff election featured an extraordinary last-minute adjustment in voting hours. Polls were originally set to close at 5 p.m. Brasília time; however, shortly after 5:01 p.m.—after initial counts had begun—Supreme Federal Court Justice Cristiano Zanin ordered a nationwide extension until 7 p.m.
Justice Zanin, who had represented Lula in corruption cases and was appointed by him in 2023, acted on a request from Lula’s campaign citing transportation issues in cities such as São Paulo and Salvador. Interestingly, Bolsonaro’s campaign had also requested extensions in southern areas affected by rain, but only after Lula’s appeal.
This order notably impacted polling stations where voting machines had not yet been closed, while finalizing machines could not be reopened. The ruling led to confusion among election monitors, poll workers, and voters. Several areas had printed ballot reports and concluded operations before receiving the extension, preventing late voters from casting their ballots.
In reaction to the outcome, Bolsonaro announced that he would not recognize the election result and demanded further examination. He expressed, “It is impossible to accept the election results given the circumstances under which these events unfolded. We will take legal action and seek to have the election annulled.”
Bolsonaro characterized the incidents as “not normal” and “unacceptable,” claiming that “a Supreme Court justice—for the first time in history, a former lawyer for Lula—signed a decree at the request of a former business partner and changed the rules of the game midway through.” He further voiced his frustration, noting that he would “never know how many votes I might have received in a state where polling stations weren’t reopened.”
