Brazil’s notorious anti-LGBTI president, Jair Bolsonaro, said he and the US were ‘side by side’ in efforts to ensure ‘traditional family values’ on a visit to the country on Tuesday (19 March).

Far-right Bolsonaro, who took office in January, has described himself as a ‘proud homophobe’.

He also said he’d prefer to have a dead son than a gay son.

In a joint press conference with Donald Trump, Bolsonaro said they stood together ‘against the gender ideology or the politically correct attitudes’.

Trump, who himself has a questionable track record on LGBTI rights, nodded along.

Here’s Trump just nodding his head along as Bolsonaro talks about how Brazil and the U.S. are joined “side by side” in a fight against trans people. pic.twitter.com/25jz1SkkVS — Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) March 20, 2019

Trump began his speech to journalists by saying he and Bolsonaro have ‘many views that are similar’.

Trump also congratulated Bolsonaro on winning his election. What’s more, Trump claimed he was ‘thrilled’ to host Bolsonaro at the White House.

Trump of the Tropics

Bolsonaro visited Trump on his first foreign trip as president.

Known for his far-right policies and anti-LGBTI, misogynistic, and racist comments, some people call Bolsonaro ‘the Trump of the Tropics’.

LGBTI activists have warned Bolsonaro will usher in a new wave of terror for Brazil’s LGBTI community.

In January, Brazil’s only openly-gay lawmaker fled the country.

‘For the future of this cause,’ Jean Wyllys told Folha de S. Paulo, ‘I have to stay alive. ‘I don’t want to be a martyr’, he also said.

He said he did not plan to return to Brazil.

Many LGBTI Brazilians who said they were fearful for their rights and safety under the rule of the openly homophobic Bolsonaro.

Prior to the presidency, Brazil saw a spate of same-sex weddings, as same-sex couples rushed to marry before Bolsonaro took office.

Though same-sex marriage has been legal in Brazil since 2013, many LGBTI people worry that Bolsonaro might begin rescinding LGBTI rights during his presidency.

2018 was one of the deadliest years for Brazil’s LGBTI community.

In September, Brazilian LGBTI rights group reported more than 300 LGBTI people have been murdered in Brazil in 2018. Importantly, that’s from 220 by the same time the previous year.

‘I would be incapable of loving a homosexual child’ Bolsonaro once said.

‘If your son starts acting a little gay, hit him with some leather, and he’ll change his behavior’ he also said.