After Democrat challenger Joe Biden name-checked Brazil at Tuesday’s debate with US President Donald Trump, attacking his record on the environment and foreign policy, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro hit back at the former vice president’s “disastrous and unnecessary” on the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

Biden in his first faceoff with Trump in Cleveland said, “The rainforests of Brazil are being torn down.” He added that he would be gathering $20 billion from the countries of the world to ‘stop tearing’ off the rainforest.

Bolsonaro, dubbed as the ‘Tropical Trump’, said Brazil would not accept “coward threats towards our territorial and economic integrity.” The Brazilian President, who openly admires Trump, tweeted, “As the head of state who has brought Brazil-US relations closer than ever before, after decades of governments that were unfriendly towards the US, it is really difficult to understand such a disastrous and unnecessary declaration.”

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“What a shame, Mr John Biden!” he added, mistaking the 77-year-old’s first name in the English version of his tweet.

Bolsonaro took charge of the office 2019, presiding over a surge of deforestation and wildfires in the world’s biggest rainforest. Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest registered an increase of 85.3% last year, setting a new record and triggering an international outcry after which Bolsonaro deployed the army to fight the fires.

The deforestation rate is down by 5% this year so far, however, the number of wildfires has increased by 13%, to 75,362.

So far this year, the deforestation rate is down by about five percent, though the number of fires has increased 13 percent, to 75,362.