Trump’s Meddling in Brazil’s Elections May Backfire

The Trump administration has ratcheted up their election interference efforts in Brazil, using sanctions, tariffs, and narratives to give Flávio Bolsonaro—son of right-wing hardliner and convicted traitor Jair Bolsonaro—any possible edge over incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. It may very well backfire.

This has been brewing for some time. The Trump administration has threatened military action against Brazil, started classifying criminal groups there as terrorist organizations, and even sent State Department officials there to delegitimize their election system. The The U.S. Consulate in São Paulo even hosted pro-Bolsonaro social media influencers for a private roundtable. Bolsonaro’s other son, Eduardo, even floated the idea that the Trump administration might reject the outcome of the election if Lula wins. Yet all these things and more have potentially turned Brazilian voters away.

“Brazil did not want the U.S. imposition of this category on these criminal organizations because it opened the door for many ways in which the Trump administration could interfere in Brazilian internal politics,” Brown University Professor of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies James Green told Responsible Statecraft. “Even though they haven’t overtly said, ‘Oh, Flávio is my candidate,’ they sent all these signals to indicate that that’s who the United States wants to see elected.”

While Lula’s approval rating hovers around 50 percent—much higher than Trump’s has been at any point in his second term—the election margin is expected to be close regardless. Voting begins on Sunday.

Texas Representative and former Senate candidate Jasmine Crockett tried to jump-start her lobbying career before even leaving office.

Reporting from Zeteo showed that Crockett, who lost a contentious Democratic primary to state Representative James Talarico, was advertising her political consultation services on her merchandise website the “Clapback Collection.” The services available were listed as “Campaign management and strategy,” “Communications and public relations,” “Government relations and lobbying,” “Digital and social media,” and “Political risk management.” The page has since been taken down but can be accessed via the Wayback Machine at the time of this writing.

The website was taken down after Zeteo reached out to Crockett’s office.

“This website is and has always been focused on selling campaign merchandise,” a spokesperson for Crockett said. “The Congresswoman has only advertised it for merchandise and did not build it.

“She never directed anyone to add the button you are inquiring about.”

Crockett’s move has raised some eyebrows. “Not waiting until you leave congress to start lobbying is impressive,” Drop Site’s Ryan Grim wrote on X.

It’s abundantly clear that Crockett cares about herself and whatever career she might have after politics much more than she cares about the constituents of her district, or helping Democrats take Texas. Crockett has refused to simply endorse Talarico, instead sparring with people online and making a guest appearance at a Chris Brown concert.

The Group of Seven Nations agreed Friday to release 100 million barrels of oil from its stockpiles—following a desperate plea from the White House.

The G7 held an emergency meeting Friday morning to discuss global energy costs. The discussion came in the wake of a pressing call between Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, during which the U.S. leader asked for assistance amid the current oil crisis and floated the idea of banning U.S. diesel exports, according to CBS Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Margaret Brennan.

The global coalition consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. The barrels are expected to hit the market over the next four months.

In a statement, the group said that it had “agreed on decisive, coordinated measures to stabilize immediate energy supplies, shield households and businesses from price shocks, and strengthen the long-term resilience of global energy systems.”

Trump announced after the meeting that “Europe has just agreed to release a massive amount of their heavily stocked Diesel Oil. The process will begin immediately.”

Two diplomats that spoke with Politico suggested that the G7 declaration was little more than a reiteration of an agreement initially drawn up in March, when the International Energy Agency led an effort to release some 400 million barrels of oil. That oil sale was stalled due to the low availability of cheaper U.S. crude oil, though an EU diplomat told Politico that the oil was finally released.

The price of oil and gas has gone up exponentially since the start of the Iran war and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz. In early February, weeks before the Trump administration initiated the conflict, gas cost approximately $2.99 per gallon. Today, a gallon costs $4.39 on average, according to the AAA fuel price tracker.

This time last year, diesel cost an average of $3.70 a gallon, according to AAA. Today, it costs $6.37 a gallon.

This story has been updated.

The bar for America’s highest elected office keeps sinking.

The nation’s totally healthy, very fit, 80-year-old president gave himself a little pat on the back Thursday after he managed to climb on the rally stage at the Peterbilt Motors manufacturing facility in Denton, Texas.

The celebration came amid a dig at the health of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.

“Don’t forget, when Biden left the stage he spoke very shortly, like two minutes, one minute, as quickly as possible,” Trump said. “Could never find the stairs.”

“I don’t have that problem. You know, these things—you know how many stairs they have?” Trump continued. “Look, I can go ramp, and I can go stair, I can go another stair, another stair in the back, I have a stair here—he could never find a stair.”

Trump is the second-oldest man to ever serve as America’s commander in chief. The octogenarian has spent hours at Walter Reed Medical Center on multiple occasions since he returned to office, has fallen asleep during more than a dozen critical meetings, appeared lost and disoriented around foreign heads of state, frequently slurs his speech, and seems to almost chronically suffer from discolored and bruised skin.

His behavior has also grown increasingly erratic, as he has thrown cheap and petty insults at members of the press, challenged long-standing U.S. alliances, and even taken jabs at the pope.

But Trump has nonetheless insisted that he is perfectly fit to keep the country’s most important job. Since 2024, the self-styled “stable genius” has “aced” several cognitive exams, though his recollections of the tests’ contents have called into question whether he actually took them at all.

The American public is apparently wising up to Trump’s age: A national Strength in Numbers/Verasight poll conducted in July found that public perceptions of Trump’s mental health were on par with Biden’s, with 46 percent of respondents rating Trump’s mental sharpness as “poor.”

Vice President JD Vance thinks that Americans are too worried about the “little things” ahead of midterms—like gas prices, debt, Immigration and Customs Enforcement killings, and war. 

“This is not the time to sort of gripe about all the little things.… I think every single person who voted for us in 2024 could find something where they wish maybe congressional Republicans had gone further,” Vance told Fox News on Thursday. “The challenge here is between Democrats who want to destroy the country, who want to permanently disempower you … and Republicans who fundamentally are trying to solve the problems that Democrats under Joe Biden created.” 

Vance was promptly lambasted online for the out-of-touch comment, something that’s become a bit of a trend for Republicans as they struggle to sell their platform to dissatisfied Americans as midterms approach. 

“So worrying about grocery prices, gas increases and no jobs is ‘griping’??” one liberal account posited. 

“By every metric Trump, Vance and the GOP took what the Biden administration left them and made it worse for the American people,” said another. “If you want to give them two more years, your momma done dropped you on your head. Twice.”

It’s clear that Republicans are grasping at straws, panicking ahead of what is widely predicted to be a brutal midterm rebuke. Just two weeks ago, Vance was begging Americans for “another chance.”