In his first public event after the most recent crisis with the Bolsonaro clan, the governor (Republicans) promised this Friday (23) to intensify support for the presidential candidacy of (PL-RJ) and said that he never received pressure from (PL).
“O [ex-]president never pressured me. For nothing. Our relationship has always been that of friends. He never asked me for anything, the only thing was to be a candidate for the State Government of “, he said, at an event to hand over houses in Embu das Artes (Grande SP).
“There’s no pressure at all. Especially because, now, we’re going to work hard for Flávio Bolsonaro. There won’t be any problems with that,” he added.
After scheduling a visit to Bolsonaro at Papudinha and then canceling it, Tarcísio has been the target of Bolsonaro allies who question his lack of support for Flávio’s candidacy and accuse the governor of preparing his own candidacy for the Presidency, which he denies.
Tarcísio presented a version for canceling his visit to Bolsonaro, which was scheduled for Thursday (22), different from reports from allies — who cite his discomfort with pressure from Flávio.
“The cancellation is a matter of scheduling, it has nothing to do with it. When you schedule a visit, the court assigns a date and it may happen that, on that date, it is not possible for some reason. I had a personal reason, I couldn’t go, I immediately asked the Supreme Court for another date, which has already been authorized,” he said.
Tarcísio’s visit to Bolsonaro had been authorized by the minister of the (Supreme Federal Court) last Monday (19). The request was made by Bolsonaro’s defense, in an initiative by the former president passed on by former first lady Michelle.
Only on Tuesday (20), after Flávio said that the visit would be for Bolsonaro to frame Tarcísio, the governor decided to cancel the agenda. At the time, he mentioned having other commitments, but spent the day there.
A person who participated in setting the date said that, if this had happened, the defense would change the date of the visits already authorized, since, in addition to Tarcísio, Bolsonaro had asked to see two other allies.
Tarcísio was asked three times about what he did this Thursday and what commitments kept him in São Paulo, but he preferred not to answer.
The governor spoke to the press during a ceremony to hand over housing units in Embu das Artes. Among other politicians, he was accompanied by the city’s former mayor Ney Santos (Republicans), sentenced to three years in semi-open prison last November for illegal possession of a weapon.
During the press conference, Tarcísio treated reports that he is working to build a presidential candidacy as “speculation”.
“I’ve always said that my candidate is Bolsonaro or whoever he nominates. He nominated Flávio. So, who is my candidate now? Flávio. It’s nothing different from what I’ve been saying since 2023. Now, there’s a lot of speculation and that’s normal because people always see the governor of São Paulo as a presidential figure. I’m not going to present a letter of resignation [em abril]”, these.
He also stated that he was giving emphatic support to Flávio. “More emphatic than that?” he asked.
