Bolsonaro demands Macron apology as condition of accepting international aid for Amazon wildfire fight
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro questions motivation of aid offer as fire crews race against time to gain upper hand on raging Amazon fires; Amy Kellogg reports.
Brazilians flocked to social media this week to apologize for remarks that President Jair Bolsonaro made about France’s first lady Brigitte Macron that were deemed sexist and inappropriate.
The back and forth between France and Brazil over an international aid package meant to combat the quick-spreading Amazon fires escalated over the weekend when Bolsonaro replied to a Facebook comment made by a supporter that criticized French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife.
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The comment --posted next to a picture of Brigitte Macron, 66, and Michelle Bolsonaro, 37-- read "now do you understand why Macron is persecuting Bolsonaro?" France 24 reported.
"Do not humiliate the guy, ha ha," a translation of Bolsonaro’s reply read.
Bolsonaro (left) replied to a Facebook comment made by a supporter that criticized French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife Brigitte (right). (AP)
Macron slammed the comment himself at a press conference Monday, saying he felt sad, “first for him and for the Brazilians.”
He continued that Brazilian women "are doubtless ashamed to read that about their president" and that he hoped the country would soon have a president who could behave according to the standards of the office.
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Macron’s guesses were accurate as many Brazilians quickly flocked to social media Tuesday to condemn their president.
“I'm shamed to be a Brazilian in this moment! Most of us are really sorry to have him as a president!” one user wrote on Twitter.
“Sorry about our president, he’s an idiot,” another person said in a post.
Most of the sentiment was that Bolsonaro's view did not “represent” the vast majority of the Brazilian people. The movement on social media saw the hashtag #DesculpaBrigitte and #PardonBrigitte, which translate to “Sorry Brigitte,” trend.
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Many Brazilian women shared in this, tweeting that they were “ashamed” of their president.
Bolsonaro has remained silent on the issue but said Tuesday that he would not accept $20 million in international aid meant to combat the Amazon fires unless Macron apologized for calling him a liar - a move governors in Brazil have urged against.
Fox News' Nicole Darrah and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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