Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Tells Journalist He Would Like to ‘Smash Your Face in’
TOUCHED A NERVE
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro told a journalist he’d like to “smash your face in” after being questioned over reports of a series of mystery payments into his wife’s bank account by a former police officer with alleged links to the Rio de Janeiro underworld. Reports in the Brazilian media have claimed that, between 2011 and 2017, at least 89,000 reais ($15,000) were paid into the account of Brazil’s first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro. The president, who swept to power in 2018 vowing to stamp out corruption, was filmed telling a reporter from one of Brazil’s top newspapers: “What I’d really like to do is smash your face in, yeah?” He then called the journalist a “dirtbag.” Within minutes of Bolsonaro’s remarks being reported, Brazilian journalists launched a coordinated online campaign, repeatedly tweeting the very same question at the president: “President Jair Bolsonaro, why did your wife Michelle receive 89,000 reais from Fabrício Queiroz?”