“Is it good for you?”: Lula says he was consulted by Trump about withdrawing Magnitsky

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) celebrated, this Friday (12), the removal of Magnitsky Law sanctions against minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF). The president stated, at an event where Moraes was present, as well as the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), that the measure was a “victory for Brazilian democracy”.

Lula recalled that this Saturday, December 13, Moraes celebrates his birthday and that Donald Trump’s decision would have been a “gift”. The president participated, together with other authorities, in the launch of the new news channel SBT News, in São Paulo.

— Trump gave him the gift of recognition that it was not fair for a president of another country to punish a minister of the Brazilian Supreme Court because he was complying with the Brazilian Constitution. It is not possible to admit that a president of one country can punish, with his laws, authorities from another country who are in defense of democracy. Therefore, your victory, Alexandre, is the victory of Brazilian democracy — said Lula.

The president took the opportunity to directly address Tarcísio, who is considered one of Lula’s likely political opponents in the 2026 elections. Upon arriving at the event, the PT member greeted the governor and, at the end, the two spoke for a few minutes about the lack of electricity in São Paulo (see below).

— Today is an important day for three reasons. The first, because I was seeing an article in the newspapers and all the negative prognoses against the Brazilian economy, announced at the beginning of January, didn’t work out, Tarcísio. Everything improved in mid-October — said the president in his speech.

Then, Lula cited the telephone conversation he had with Trump last week, an opportunity in which the two talked about the removal of sanctions against Alexandre de Moraes.

— He (Trump) asked: “is it good for you?” I said: “it’s not good for me, it’s good for Brazil and it’s good for Brazilian democracy. Here you’re not dealing with friend to friend, you’re dealing with nation to nation. And the Supreme Court for us is a very important thing.” And I was very happy,” he added.

Cordiality and conversation about Enel

This was the first meeting between Lula and Tarcísio since February, when the two were together at a meeting in Brasília to talk about works in São Paulo. In September, when the Santos-Guarujá tunnel auction was held on B3, it was Alckmin who represented the federal government. In recent months, Tarcísio has been directly criticizing Lula, and has even said that the country needs to “change the CEO”.

This Friday, Tarcísio and Lula briefly greeted each other in the studio where the new channel was launched. As the president arrived late, he spent a short time in the VIP room where the authorities and guests were, and the two did not meet at that time. In the studio, Lula arrived next to the first lady, Janja da Silva, and Tarcísio, who was sitting, stood up and greeted the PT member with a handshake. Then, the governor turned to the side and greeted the first lady.

Before the president’s arrival, Tarcísio spent several minutes talking to the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, and former player Alexandre Pato, who is married to Rebeca Abravanel, daughter of Silvio Santos, also participated in the conversation. The two talked pleasantly, in a cordial tone. One of the topics of the conversation was that Tarcísio’s father, who would also be 95 years old like Silvio Santos if he were alive, studied at the same school as the founder of SBT in Rio de Janeiro.

Tarcísio and Alckmin exchanged a few words alongside Ronaldo Fenômeno. Ronaldo referred to the politicians as “two stars”, to which Tarcísio replied: “You are the star”. Ronaldo was also “tipped” by Lula and STF minister Alexandre de Moraes — Moraes even took the opportunity to take a photo with Alexandre Pato, who played for his favorite team, Corinthians.

At the end of the ceremony, there was a brief conversation between Lula, Tarcísio and the mayor of the capital, Ricardo Nunes (MDB), about Enel. In his speech, Nunes had asked for the president’s “help” to resolve the issue of frequent blackouts in São Paulo, since the concession of electricity distribution falls under federal jurisdiction. In the conversation, Lula said that he would talk to the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, about the topic and that the minister would also talk to the mayor.

In a succinct speech, Tarcísio praised the creation of a new news channel and said that journalism is necessary “at a time of fierce polarization” and called for convergence and dialogue.

— Sometimes they hate each other simply because they think differently. Right here, in Brazil, the country of syncretism, the country of tolerance, it’s time to change that key. It’s time to turn things around. We can think differently. The debate will take place in the political arena. But we have a way to build convergence. A project for the future — he said, while Lula watched him from the audience.