Trump floats idea of Brazil joining European alliance

President Donald Trump has raised the possibility of Brazil becoming a member of NATO.

‘Our relationship has never been better’: Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at the White House. Picture: AP

The US President ­Donald Trump has raised the possibility of Brazil becoming a member of NATO, the military alliance­ set up after World War II to defend ­Europe.

“I … intend to designate Brazil as a major non-NATO ally, or even possibly, if you start thinking about it, maybe a NATO ally,” Mr Trump said as he hosted Brazil’s far-right President, Jair Bolsonaro, for security talks at the White House.

“I have to talk to a lot of people, but maybe a NATO ally, which will greatly advance security and co-operation between our countries.”

Asked earlier whether Brazil should be granted NATO privil­eges, Mr Trump replied: “We’re looking at it very strongly. We’re very inclined to do that.

“The relationship that we have right now with Brazil has never been better. I think there was a lot of hostility with other presidents. There’s zero hostility with me.

“And we’re going to look at that very, very strongly in terms of whether it’s NATO or something having to do with alliance.”

The North Atlantic Treaty ­Organisation, which will mark 70 years since its founding on April 4, cleared the way last month for Macedonia to become its 30th member.

Mr Trump has been unstinting in his criticism of NATO’s Eur­o­pean members, accusing them of freeloading on the protection ­offered by the US military while not spending enough on their own armed forces.

Before taking office, he called NATO “obsolete” and soon after a NATO summit last July he questioned whether the US would honour­ the alliance’s founding principle of mutual defence for prospective member Montenegro.

Like Mr Trump, Mr Bolsonaro is a populist who delights in shocking leftist opponents and, like the US President, he stands accused of darker far-right tendencies.

Since his election last year, he has worn his nickname “Trump of the Tropics” with pride. Such are the similarities, ­National Securit­y Adviser John Bolton now jokes that Mr Trump should be dubbed “the Bolsonar­o of North America”.

Washington had strained relations with Brazil’s long string of leftist governments but the rise of Mr Bolsonaro, a former paratrooper who talks enthusiastically of combating socialism and killing street criminals, has opened a new door for the Trump administration.

“It’s the first time in a long time that a Brazilian president who is not anti-American comes to Washington,” Mr Bolsonaro tweeted. A senior­ US official said a new “North-South axis” was on the table.

A Trump-Bolsonaro bonding matters for the US-led campaign to pressure Venezuela’s hard-left President, Nicolas Maduro, from power, as well as pushing back against growing Chinese economic influence across South America.

It could also have large-scale implications for the future of ­efforts to slow or reverse global warming: Brazil is home to much of the threatened Amazon rainforest and Mr Bolsonaro, like Mr Trump, is a climate change sceptic.

In an interview with Fox News — Mr Trump’s favourite TV channe­l — Mr Bolsonaro said he had “a great deal” in common with his US counterpart. “I have always admired him. I will not deny that,’’ he said. “I have been highly critic­ised because of this but I will not of course deny what I do think.’’

Mr Trump said the two leaders agreed that the US could launch rockets from a Brazilian base as part of the Space Force development, his planned new branch of the US military.

The US President’s NATO ­remarks seemed to be a Trumpian deviation from the carefully prepared announcement of military co-operation that caught both the Brazilians and NATO by surprise.

NATO refused to comment but a source close to the 29-nation military alliance pointed out that its founding treaty set out its aim to “promote stability and wellbeing in the North Atlantic area”.

There is scant chance of Brazil becoming a full member, because the alliance was formed in 1949 aimed at the security of Europe.

The differences in approach to Latin American security issues was highlighted when Mr Trump, asked about potential US military intervention in Venezuela, said that “all options” remained on the table.

In contrast, Mr Bolsonaro in October appeared to rule out the Brazilian army entering Venez­uela, despite his support for oppos­ition leader Juan Guaido replacing Mr Maduro, saying his country would “always seek the non-­violent path”.

Asked in Washington about the possibility of stationing US troops in Brazil in the case of a US intervention in Venezuela, Mr Bolsonaro said he could not discuss details, because “there are a few ­issues that if you speak, they are no longer strategic”.

AFP, The Times