Flavio Bolsonaro declared himself the "true elected president" of Brazil, claiming widespread electoral fraud and accusing President Lula and the Supreme Court of stealing the election. In a statement issued from the US, Bolsonaro said he left Brazil with his family because of fear of political persecution and vowed to lead the opposition from abroad. "I didn't run away from Brazil. I left for Brazil. I did not commit any crime," Bolsonaro declared, thanking President Trump and the American people for welcoming him, as well as Argentine President Javier Maile for his "courage, sense of justice and respect for the rule of law. Bolsonaro urged the international community not to "normalize" what he described as an "authoritarian regime" in Brazil, comparing his exile to Charles de Gaulle's leadership of the Free France from London during World War II.

Flavio Bolsonaro declared himself the "true elected president" of Brazil, claiming widespread electoral fraud and accusing President Lula and the Supreme Court of stealing the election. In a statement issued from the US, Bolsonaro said he left Brazil with his family because of fear of political persecution and vowed to lead the opposition from abroad. "I didn't run away from Brazil. I left for Brazil. I did not commit any crime," Bolsonaro declared, thanking President Trump and the American people for welcoming him, as well as Argentine President Javier Maile for his "courage, sense of justice and respect for the rule of law. Bolsonaro urged the international community not to "normalize" what he described as an "authoritarian regime" in Brazil, comparing his exile to Charles de Gaulle's leadership of the Free France from London during World War II.