'Looks So Corrupt': Trump Says Brazil Elections Were Rigged After Lula’s Victory

US President Donald Trump has questioned the integrity of Brazil’s presidential election, saying the process looked compromised and gave the world “a terrible look.”

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the 80-year-old former factory worker and leader of the Workers’ Party (PT), won re-election by defeating the far-right candidate Flavio Bolsonaro in a closely fought run-off. The first round had been tied, and neither candidate won the majority needed to avoid a second round.

TRUMP: ‘IT LOOKED LIKE ANOTHER RIGGED ELECTION’

Speaking to reporters in Iowa, Trump said democratic contests must be beyond suspicion. “I didn’t take sides, but it looked like another rigged election, frankly,” he said.

“Elections have to be indisputable. And it looked very bad to me. I didn’t endorse anybody or anything, but I watched the election and it looks so corrupt. So terrible.”

Asked whether he would intervene or take any steps, he said his responsibility was limited to the US. “I’m not running Brazil, I’m running the USA,” he said.

He added that he gets along well with Lula, but that the way the votes were tabulated was a concern. “With the extension given, it was very strange,” he said, without saying what extension he meant.

LULA’S COMEBACK

Lula’s win ends a run of victories by far-right candidates across Latin America, who have drawn on anti-incumbent anger, worries about crime and promises of close cooperation with Trump. It is also a striking political comeback, giving Lula a fourth non-consecutive term in office.

Lula thanked the country in a message. “My eternal gratitude to the Brazilian people, to the youth who took to the streets in defense of democracy, and to every person who made an immense effort to vote,” he said. “This victory belongs to a people who believe, who fight, and who never give up on building a more just, sovereign, and democratic Brazil.”

With inputs from ANI