Mr. Diplomacy: Joe Biden manages to enrage Brazil

Here's a piece of post-debate fallout news that slipped under the radar.

According to Reuters:

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro reacted angrily on Wednesday to U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s call for a world effort to offer Brazil $20 billion to end Amazon deforestation or face unspecified “economic consequences.Bolsonaro wrote on Facebook he interpreted Biden’s comment in a U.S. presidential debate on Tuesday night as a threat of economic sanctions if Brazil did not take the offer.

Bolsonaro wrote in Portuguese and English that he does not accept “bribes” or “coward threats.”

The president said Brazil was taking action on deforestation and reasserted that he views foreign interest in the Amazon as financially motivated and an attempt to undermine Brazilian sovereignty.

“The greed of some countries towards the Amazon is a well-known fact,” Bolsonaro said.

“However, the explicit demonstration of this greed by someone who is running for the presidency of his country is a clear sign of contempt for cordial and fruitful coexistence between two sovereign nations.”

That would be the same Joe Biden whose campaign website vows to "elevate diplomacy." Brazil is a longtime U.S. military treaty ally dating to 1952 with many other important agreements. It's also the biggest nation in Latin America (remember the Latinos, Joe?), and really doesn't care to be bullied. 

Here's the basics on Brazil: Do not tell them what to do with their rainforest. Global leftists for years have claimed it the world's patrimony and other claptrap, claiming it belongs to them and the Brazilians can't stand it. Want to know why Brazil elected 'Tropical Trump'? That's why Brazil elected Tropical Trump.

And Biden missed this entirely, forgetting that he was speaking on a closely watched global stage with every last nation on earth taking notes. When Bolsonaro heard Brazil's name brought up, he sprang into action, and the mess Biden made was not pretty.

And let's take a look at what made Brazil mad. It's not just the foreign meddling and the treating of great big Brazil with some of the world's most advanced technology, like some banana republic, which is what Biden did.

Notice the muscle in that Biden statement. Either you take the $20 bil and spend it as we say you spend it, or we cut you off. Sound like Joe in Ukraine? It sure does. You can bet that if Biden gets elected president, Hunter will be following his dad around with his black bag open when the flight plan is to touch down in Brasilia. And the Brazilians will be whispering to each other: Get ready to make the big payout.

No wonder they can't stand him. And this should be good for driving Brazilian American voters (plenty of those in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Florida) towards President Trump. Nice stab at diplomacy Joe. You aren't even president yet and already you've alienated a major ally.

No wonder Robert Gates famously said that in foreign policy and national security, Joe Biden has always been wrong on everything. 

 

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