President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, addressed journalists after leaving Barnes & Noble, where he purchased the book ‘Original Sin: The Decline of President Biden, His Cover-Up, and the Disastrous Decision to Run Again,’ written by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, in its original English version.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will meet with Donald Trump on Tuesday evening at the traditional reception offered by the President of the United States to the heads of delegation present in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
When asked what he expects from this brief reunion, he responded: “If I know President Trump well, and I know him well because a good rapport was established during his first term, he is a very extroverted and entertaining person.”
“We’ll have to see how the President is,” he stated.
“But he is very much as he is. From my experience of meeting him several times during the previous term, he maintains the same style and demeanor,” he added.
The head of state recalled being with Trump at the funeral of Pope Francis in April of this year: “I was sitting behind him, he was in the first row, I was in the second row.”
“We greeted each other, and at that time, he was surprised that I was still in politics,” he recounted, explaining that when they first met, he was at the beginning of his first term, and now he is at the end of his second five-year term.
“He is usually an extroverted and very outgoing individual,” he reiterated.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will deliver his sixth and final speech representing Portugal in the annual debate between heads of State and Government of the 193 UN member states on Tuesday, having participated in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2023.
“The [American] President hosts a reception on the first day of work, and so I have already had the opportunity to meet three presidents: in the last year of Obama, several times with President Trump, and also with President Biden,” he noted.
The head of state mentioned that these receptions took place “in different venues, some were held in a hotel, and President Biden hosted his in a museum,” involving “lines of guests waiting,” and typically, the time the President of the United States spends with each guest is “very brief.”
“Usually, it is quick. A photo is taken, and a topic is raised either before or after the photo,” he described.
However, sometimes, “being the last to arrive or among the last to arrive,” he has had more time for conversation, for instance, with Barack Obama in 2016: “It was an advantage because he had an Azorean photographer and a Portuguese dog. And since I was the last, we had a conversation.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also recalled an episode at one of Trump’s receptions: “I was the last, or next to last, on one occasion, with the Ukrainian President, Poroshenko, and Russian minister Lavrov, who were not speaking to each other. And so, the three of us remained there, and I ended up engaging in conversation with both.”
“Sometimes, there is a chance to briefly discuss political topics. I remember once, with President Trump, the Democrats had introduced the impeachment, and he—since we already knew each other from a previous meeting at the White House—wanted to know my opinion on it,” he stated.
The head of state warned early on about the potential for the new U.S. administration to move closer to Russia and distance itself from Europe.
In late August, while speaking with young people, he remarked that Trump has effectively acted as a “Soviet or Russian asset,” benefiting the Russian Federation in the conflict against Ukraine.
