Andre Ventura accuses journalists of being “enemies of the people”

This Friday, Chegi’s leader accused journalists of being “enemies of the people”, using an expression repeatedly used by former US President Donald Trump.

At the heart of the accusation were questions from journalists about a video posted on social media by Andre Ventura, which showed part of his interaction with an immigrant who approached him on Thursday at an election rally in Povoa de Varzim.

Chega uses only a portion of the images from the interaction to suggest that the immigrant lied about his nationality and profession. In Chegi’s subtitles, the man claims to be Indonesian and a fisherman, despite telling reporters he is a Bangladeshi citizen.

Chega omits the part where Andre Ventura asks him directly if he fishes, and the man responds in laborious Portuguese that he works in greenhouses and helps other Indonesian immigrants who are fishermen.

Andre Ventura denied that the video was doctored, insisting that the man told him he was from Indonesia and then “then said he was from Bangladesh”, preferring to rail against the media, especially the SIC, classifying the work as “miserable “, made by this TV channel.

“If anyone lied first, it was you… yesterday you were enemies of the people, enemies of the people. By sharing false, deceitful information and manipulating people,” he accused, using Donald Trump’s expression.

Asked if he was emulating the former North American president, Ventura replied: “Are you imitating Fernando Mendez by asking questions like that? I mean, it doesn’t make sense, I don’t imitate anyone, I say what I think.” “.

“You know that I have great respect for your work, but yesterday you were the real purveyors of fake news and were, above all, enemies of the people, those who try to manipulate people in favor of a political idea,” he said. accused of a hostile interaction with reporters during which supporters applauded Ventura’s criticism.

The Chegi leader also said that the immigrant first asked to “take a photo” with him, and “suddenly” accused him of racism, saying that “he was exploited and that someone put him there.”

When asked who was using the immigrant as a tool, Ventura said “it could only be the political left,” but did not want to elaborate.

On this occasion, President Chegi also commented on the news from Expresso that the investigating judge considered that the suspicions that fall on the son of the President of the Republic in the twins case could also extend to Marcelo Rebelo de Souza, but the Supreme Court refused to investigate the case.

Andre Ventura insisted that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa “must give an explanation.”

When also asked about his statements Thursday afternoon, he declined to compare himself to Salazar.

“They used to say that you need two Salazars, now everyone knows that Salazar is not needed, Andre Ventura is enough. This is not comparing me to anyone, it is saying that what was said in the wrong sense is now speaking in the right direction. “, he asserted, declaring that “the bad is already there, the good has just arrived.”

Also, in a conversation with journalists, the leader of “Chegas as Europeans” defended, without offending anyone, when he said that he was going to the European Parliament not “to protect animals, plants, gardens,” but rather “Portugal and the Portuguese,” saying: “Nobody loves animals more , than me”.

Asked if Chega didn’t believe in climate change, he continued in the tone of a party leader: “If I wanted to be nasty, I would say: look, go ask the puppies and they’ll tell you soon. about love, what question to ask?

António Tangier Correa also believes that the statement of having an “ecocentric program” means “protecting the Portuguese and farmers.”