US asked Flávio Bolsonaro to drop 'president-elect' from letter

The US government asked Senator Flávio Bolsonaro to remove the terms "true president of Brazil" and "president-elect" from a letter he released, as they could be seen as a diplomatic break with Brazil. State Department officials said the wording might suggest Washington recognized Bolsonaro, who lost the presidential election by 4.4 million votes, as the winner. The request came after the Trump administration reviewed the letter's first version, though Trump has kept contact with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro deleted the original letter and republished it with "leader of Brazil" instead. He thanked Trump and Argentina's Javier Milei, denied fleeing Brazil, and said he would lead opposition from the US.