The former president () and the senator (PL) exchanged barbs on social media after the former astronaut reaffirmed that he will run for president of the .
This Tuesday (21), in a video on X (formerly Twitter), Pontes stated that “arrogance can close doors” and that “you need to be humble” to realize that it is not possible to “know everything”. The content, in an emotional tone, ends with a frozen image of the senator and the words: “I’m a candidate for president of the Senate” and “You know what is right. Be honest!”
The message was published one day after Bolsonaro criticized and classified as “regrettable” Marcos Pontes’ pre-candidacy for command of the Senate.
On the same day that the former minister launched his candidacy, Jair Bolsonaro was negotiating, within the PL, (União Brasil), the great favorite to command the House from February 2025.
The former president even gave an interview about the election in the Senate. At the time, he reiterated that the PL’s support for Alcolumbre was practically certain and, at no point, did he mention Pontes’ name.
Bolsonaro’s opinion on his former minister’s candidacy was given in an appearance on the AuriVerde channel, on YouTube, on Monday (20). The former president wished his ally good luck, but said he regretted the situation, saying that he “has no way of winning.”
“Nowadays, if you pick up your cell phone and try to speak to any minister, you won’t get through, you don’t have any commission with you […]”, he stated.
Bolsonaro also said that Pontes’ attitude involved a personal ambition, which has nothing to do with strengthening the PL in the Senate. “It’s bad for all of us.”
At another point, the former president was even elated when remembering the 2022 dispute. “I elected you in São Paulo. I left aside my friend Marco Feliciano there, with a huge pain in my heart. I left aside the [deputado] Marco Feliciano to support you for the Senate and this is the payment?”
In Pontes’ publication, Bolsonarists came together to criticize the former astronaut. “Again in the world of the moon”, “traitor” and “I wanted to see a little text like that before receiving Bolsonaro’s support to run for an eight-year position” were some of the comments.
This is not the first time that the senator has been accused of contradicting the former president’s supporters. In November 2024, Marcos Pontes provoked outrage from the group by posting a video on his Instagram profile in which he classified the explosions as terrorism.
