Brazil presidential hopeful Bolsonaro adds Rubio, Vance talks to Washington trail

By Luciana Magalhaes and Andre Romani

SAO PAULO, May 27 (Reuters) – Brazilian Senator and presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro said he met with US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Wednesday, after visiting the Oval Office with President Donald Trump the previous day.

The meetings took place as the senator struggled to cope with a political crisis that emerged after he admitted asking a now-jailed banker for money to fund a movie about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. The senator has denied any wrongdoing.

The senator lost ground in opinion polls after the case became public this month, but remains statistically mostly tied to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in October election runoff scenarios.

Discussions with U.S. officials this week also included combating organized crime, rare earths and freedom of expression, according to the senator.

Bolsonaro said the health condition of his father, who is serving a 27-year house arrest sentence after being convicted of plotting a coup, was also discussed, including during the meeting with Trump in the Oval Office.

Lula met with Trump at the White House earlier this month.

(Reporting by Andre Romani and Luciana Magalhaes in Sao Paulo. Editing by Rod Nickel and Brendan O’Boyle)