United States President Donald Trump has pledged to boost Argentina’s economy with a $20bn currency swap — but only if the South American country’s right-wing president prevails in the upcoming elections.
That president, the self-described anarcho-capitalist Javier Milei, was in Washington, DC, on Tuesday for his latest visit to the White House.
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“We think he’s going to win. He should win. And if he does win, we’re going to be very helpful,” Trump said.
“And if he doesn’t win, we’re not going to waste our time, because you have somebody whose philosophy has no chance of making Argentina great again.”
Since taking office in December 2023, Milei has made at least a dozen trips to the US, including to attend Trump’s second inauguration. The two leaders share a strong public bond.
But Milei’s latest meeting with Trump comes as his political coalition, La Libertad Avanza (Freedom Advances), faces a series of hurdles heading into Argentina’s midterm elections on October 26.
Trump appeared eager to help Milei overcome his drooping poll numbers on Tuesday, as he hosted the Argentinian leader in the White House’s cabinet room.
He explained to reporters that the economic safety net that the US was giving to Argentina was his way of “helping a great philosophy take over a great country”.
“ You’re going to win the election,” Trump told Milei. “We’re going to endorse you. I’m going to endorse you today, fully endorse you. People in Argentina like me. A lot of people like me.”
Trump proceeded to post about Milei on his social media platform Truth Social, pledging to “support his work during the upcoming Midterms”.
A conditional bailout
The conditional nature of the Argentinian bailout, however, has raised questions about Trump’s commitment to propping up Argentina’s ailing economy.
Milei’s surprise victory in the 2023 presidential election was widely seen as a backlash against the previous left-wing government of Alberto Fernandez, under whose leadership inflation spiralled to more than 200 percent.
However, while Milei has reduced inflation, the value of the Argentinian peso remains low, and critics have accused the South American president of slashing programmes for low-income residents, exacerbating poverty.
One reporter on Tuesday asked Trump outright if the US’s support for Argentina depended on a win for La Libertad Avanza in the upcoming elections.
“ Well, I think if they don’t do that, we’re not going to be around very long,” Trump replied.
The US president then mused about a potential loss for Milei’s party. “We would not be generous with Argentina if that happened. If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina.”
Trump also alluded to the potential for further economic turmoil should Milei’s “extremely far-left” rival prevail, though it was unclear which opposition figure he was referring to.
Milei himself is not on the ballot on October 26, but his party, La Libertad Avanza, will be competing for half the seats in Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies and a third in its Senate.
Control of Argentina’s National Congress will determine whether Milei can continue to carry out his wide-reaching austerity measures, among them a push to overhaul the federal government.
Milei himself has illustrated the dramatic nature of his cost-cutting campaign by turning to props. He was known for wielding a chainsaw on stage during his presidential bid and whacking piñatas emblazoned with the name of Argentina’s Central Bank.
Backlash to Milei
But while Milei’s victory in the 2023 presidential race was a strong rebuke to Argentina’s left wing, more recent races have shown public support for his agenda cooling.
On September 7, the province of Buenos Aires held elections for its congressional seats, and La Libertad Avanza was trounced by a rival coalition, the left-wing Justicialist Party.
That party took more than 46 percent of the vote, compared with La Libertad Avanza’s 34 percent.
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