US President Donald Trump speaks during a multilateral lunch in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC. AFP
Trump this week announced huge tariffs on Brazilian imports as he battles on behalf of Bolsonaro against Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
On Wednesday, he unveiled a 50 percent tariff targeting Brazil while denouncing the trial of the country’s former leader, and said a US "national security" levy on copper would take effect on 1 August -- a deadline also applied to dozens of other countries.
Bolsonaro -- dubbed the "Trump of the Tropics" for mimicking the Republican's hard-right populism -- is on trial for allegedly plotting a coup to overturn his loss in the 2022 elections.
The case echoes the now discarded prosecution of Trump over his refusal to acknowledge his 2020 election loss and the 6 January 2021 assault by his supporters on Congress.
"They're treating President Bolsonaro very unfairly," Trump told reporters, calling him "a good man."
"He was very tough in negotiation, but he was also very honest. And I know the honest ones, and I know the crooked ones."
In a letter Wednesday to Lula, Trump justified the imposition of trade tariffs by saying that Bolsonaro should not be on trial and complaining that the United States has "a very unfair trade relationship" with Brazil.
In fact, official Brazilian figures show a near two-decade sustained trade surplus in favour of the United States.
Lula, who narrowly beat Bolsonaro in the 2022 vote, has hit back at Trump's "interference," insisting that "no one is above the law."
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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