White House to Host Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's Anti-LGBTQ President

Donald Trump will meet with Jair Bolsonaro.

Trump has set a White House visit with the antigay Brazilian president on Tuesday, March 19.

The pair "will discuss how to build a more prosperous, secure, and democratic Western Hemisphere," noted a release from the Office of the Press Secretary.

"The leaders of the Hemisphere's two largest economies will also discuss opportunities for defense cooperation, pro-growth trade policies, combatting transnational crime, and restoring democracy in Venezuela," the release added.

"Finally, they will talk about the major role that the United States and Brazil are playing in the effort to provide humanitarian assistance to Venezuela."

Bolsonaro, a former member of Brazil's Congress who has been called the "Trump of the Tropics," has a long history of homophobia, racism, and misogyny. One of his first acts as president was to remove LGBTQ concerns from the list of issues handled by the nation's human rights ministry. He did not assign it to any other agency.

Bolsonaro has criticized what he calls "gender-based ideology," saying it threatens Brazil's Christian values. He has gone so far as to say that he would rather have a dead son than a gay one. He also has likened indigenous people to animals and said a female legislator was too ugly to be raped.

In February, Bolsonaro announced that information related to LGBTQ and feminist movements, which the recently elected far-right official called "Marxist rubbish," will be excised from the South American nation's school curriculum. He is also advocating that more schools be run by the military.

Despite this troubling record, Trump has expressed enthusiasm over Bolsonaro's rise to political power. "Had a very good conversation with the newly elected President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, who won his race by a substantial margin," Trump tweeted in October. "We agreed that Brazil and the United States will work closely together on Trade, Military and everything else! Excellent call, wished him congrats!"