Brazilian President Says Trump ‘Not The Emperor Of The World’ Amid Tense Bilateral Ties

Last Updated:September 18, 2025, 17:26 IST

Lula da Silva criticised Donald Trump, stating he is not the emperor of the world, and highlighted strained US-Brazil relations and Trump’s 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods.

Brazilian President emphasized that his poor relations with the current US President were an exception as he had good relations with former US presidents

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took a jibe at Donald Trump, saying that he may be the President of the United States but “he’s not emperor of the world”.

In an interview with BBC, Lula emphasised that he had “no relationship” with Trump as he was not the Brazilian President when Trump was elected the first time.

“I don’t have a relationship with Trump because when Trump was elected the first time, I wasn’t president. His relationship is with Bolsonaro, not Brazil,” he said.

He further said that though Trump had previously said that Lula can “call him anytime”, the members of the Trump Administration “do not want to talk”.

BBC quoted the Brazilian President as saying that if he passed Trump at next week’s United Nations General Assembly he would “greet him because I am a civilised citizen”, but added that Trump may be “president of the United States, [but] he’s not emperor of the world!”.

Lula, meanwhile, pointed out that his poor relations with the current US President were an exception as he had good relations with former US presidents, UK prime ministers, the EU, China, Ukraine, Venezuela and “all the countries in the world”.

He further said that he had found out about the US tariffs from Brazilian newspapers. The US President “didn’t communicate in a civilised manner. He just published them [the tariffs] on his portal – on social media,” Lula said.

Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods in July citing the trial on coup charges of Brazil’s right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro as a trigger, BBC reported.

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