Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and U.S. President Donald Trump held a closely watched meeting at the White House on Thursday that was expected to include public remarks and camera access, but the encounter instead concluded behind closed doors with no joint appearance before reporters, fueling questions about the state of relations between the two leaders.
The bilateral meeting had initially been scheduled to open to journalists in the Oval Office before lunch between the two presidents. But shortly before the session began, reporters were informed that Brazil's delegation had requested that any interaction with the press occur only after the private talks concluded. That appearance ultimately never happened.
