At a press conference on Tuesday at the
White House, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro reiterated his
opposition to LGBT rights.
Bolsonaro spoke at a White House Rose
Garden joint news conference with President Donald Trump.
Speaking through a translator,
Bolsonaro commented on his government's “respect for traditional
family values” and opposition to “gender identity.”
Bolsonaro also said that his admiration
for the United States has “only increased” since Trump took
office.
“Brazil does not have a president who
is anti-American,” he said.
During his nearly three decades as a
congressman, Bolsonaro has openly criticized LGBT rights, and he once
described himself as a “proud homophobe.”
In 2011, he stated that he would
“rather his son dies in a car accident than be gay,” and two
years later he stated that he would “rather have a son who is an
addict than a son who is gay.”
In January, Jean Wyllys, Brazil's first
openly gay man elected to the Brazilian Congress, resigned his post
and fled the country, citing death threats against him. In response,
Bolsonaro tweeted “great day.”
(Related: Brazil's
only openly gay congressman quits, cites death threats.)