Trump says Brazil's Bolsonaro can stay in US ‘as long as he wants’

While supporting Bolsonaro, Trump however added that he had "no plans to meet" him

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he had no plans to meet Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro but the defeated presidential candidate who fled Brazil following his election loss could remain in the United States “as long as he wants”.“No plans to meet, but I think he got treated very shabbily. He can stay here as long as he wants. The election was a disgrace,” Trump said.

Bolsonaro, who lost the presidential runoff to incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, arrived in Miami with his family on Wednesday after an elaborate cross-border escape from Brazil.

How Bolsonaro reached the US

His departure reportedly involved decoy vehicles, a journey through Argentina and a private jet that stopped in Ecuador to refuel before flying to the US.The escape came amid mounting legal troubles in Brazil. The country's Supreme Court had ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passports within 24 hours as part of a money-laundering investigation and barred him from leaving the country. Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing.According to a Wall Street Journal report, Trump personally approved the family's entry into the US on Tuesday, following which Secretary of State Marco Rubio moved to issue visas. The family was admitted under humanitarian parole, allowing them to stay in the country for one year.Read more: Decoys, secret jet and Trump's help - How Bolsonaro pulled off his escape from Brazil to US