Trump and Brazil’s President Team Up to Troll the Press at Summit Meeting: ‘They’re Not Great Questions Today’

 

President Donald Trump needling the press is nothing new. But on Sunday at a summit in Malaysia, he had help from another world leader.

Speaking with journalists ahead of a private meeting at the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Trump and Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva teamed up to poke fun at the assembled press. Lula kicked things off by trying to bring the questioning to a close after nine minutes.

“I would like to suggest that the press would continue the interview after the meeting,” Lula said, via a translator.

“That’s a good idea, I like that,” Trump said, smiling.

From there, the two leaders went on to troll the reporters covering them.

“We don’t have much time,” Lula said. “And we’ll waste time, or lose time, talking with the journalists.”

“They’re not great questions today, I must say,” Trump added. “They’re sort of boring questions.”

The remark drew a laugh from Lula — who then waved away the press, as if swatting a fly.

The session had not been particularly contentious prior to that abrupt ending. But Trump did get testy with reporters questioning him about his defense of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Trump, in July, denounced the criminal charges against Bolsonaro – who was convicted in September in connection with plot to overturn Brazil’s 2022 election results. The U.S. president has called the case a “WITCH HUNT.”

“I’ve always liked him,” Trump said. “I feel very badly about what happened to him. I’ve always thought he was a straight-shooter. You know, he’s gone through a lot.”

“Is it on the agenda today?” A reporter asked.

“That’s none of your business,” Trump shot back.

Lula, for his part, rejected Trump’s demand that the case be dropped.

Watch above.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!

Tags:

Joe DePaolo is the Editor in Chief of Mediaite. Email him here: joed@mediaite.com Follow him on X: @joe_depaolo