Trump highlights meeting with Lula, and the Brazilian touts trade progress after three-hour White House talks

President Donald Trump praised talks held at the White House on Thursday with his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whom he described as "very dynamic."

The Republican said the meeting with his ideological opposite focused on tariffs.

"We discussed many topics, including Trade and, specifically, Tariffs. The meeting went very well," Trump said on the social network Truth after the meeting, which was supposed to be open to the media but ended up being held behind closed doors. According to Brazilian sources cited by various reports, it was Lula who asked that any contact with the media be held until the meeting was over. The U.S. presidential office decreed an information pause until mid-afternoon and there were no joint statements.

Trump added that representatives of both governments will meet again in the coming months to address "key elements" of the bilateral relationship.

Lula speaks of "love at first sight"

The Brazilian president gave a press conference at the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, where he was visibly happy with the outcome of the meeting. "Our relationship is very good, but very good," he said, before throwing in a metaphor that is already making headlines: "You know that love-at-first-sight story? That chemistry thing...that's what happened."

Lula maintained that his bond with Trump has evolved from their first encounter of just 29 seconds at the UN General Assembly, passing through several phone calls and the bilateral meeting in Malaysia in October. "I have reason to believe that Trump likes Brazil," he assured, and ruled out that the Republican will interfere in Brazil's 2026 elections, as some critics claim. Lula said he is confident that his U.S. peer "is going to behave like a president" and will let the Brazilian people decide their destiny.

Later, on his official account, Lula summarized the visit: "I leave Washington with the idea that we took an important step in the consolidation of the historic democratic relationship that Brazil has with the United States. It was a very important meeting with President Donald Trump. Brazil is prepared to discuss any issue with any country in the world: tariffs, foreign trade, critical minerals, combating organized crime and drug and arms trafficking. We have no veto or prohibited matter. The only thing we do not cede is our democracy and our sovereignty. In the coming days, our ministers will continue negotiations to move forward on the issues we addressed today."