Boys and Girls, it is hot here in Brazil.

Not only is the temperature consistently above 90 degrees, even in the darkest hours of the night (thanks, global warming—oh right, that doesn’t exist because Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring it so…), but the mood of the Brazilian people is heated as well. They are angry at the U.S.

Last night, one of the leading stories on the nightly news was the return of undocumented Brazilians from the U.S. back to Brazil. The condemnation wasn’t about the repatriation itself but rather the callous manner in which the U.S. handled it. Returning Brazilians reported being handcuffed and denied food, water, or bathroom breaks for up to 12 hours. You wouldn’t treat animals that way.

Watch here:

It’s not that Brazilians dislike the USA or its citizens. I know a highly educated, beautiful Brasileira who actually married an American and seems happy—most days. But they are deeply suspicious of Trump because he reminds them of their own Trump wannabe, Bolsonaro. You remember him. He was President for a while, and then, after losing the election, he attempted the same coup as Trump by encouraging an invasion of the capital. Here’s the difference: almost immediately, Bolsonaro was convicted of election crimes and is now barred from running for office.

Brazilians love democracy. They fought for it for decades and have strict laws and a separate court system to ensure elections remain fair and that no one colors outside the lines. They see Donald Trump as an existential threat to their democracy. Let that sink in for a moment—a U.S. President is considered an existential threat to another country’s democracy. There is a lot of historical context behind that, including the CIA’s role in helping sustain Brazil’s former dictatorship, but weren’t we supposed to be the white hats, not the black hats?

The unintended consequences of this are multifaceted. Brazilians are now hesitant to travel to the U.S., meaning Disney World will never be the same. Because of cuts to U.S. aid, the Amazon—the lungs of the world—will likely face increased exploitation, giving the planet a metaphorical case of emphysema. And, in the name of “Make America Great Again” and defeating China in the global economy, we’ve effectively cleared the playing field for them. China is heavily invested in Brazil, with multiple initiatives, not the least of which includes a $690 billion loan.

Making America great again has, in turn, made China great in Brazil—which would only be tolerable if it improved the quality of Chinese restaurants here in Rio. (Don’t ask. It’s awful.)

American exceptionalism—our place in the world—was built on our willingness to fight for democracy and uphold our ideals globally. We were willing to sacrifice our best and brightest so the world could be a better place for all its inhabitants. Donald Trump has dimmed that light so much that, from here, it’s hard to see it at all.