WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to withdraw support for Argentina — led by a political soul mate whose philosophy is similar to that of the Republican administration — if the country’s domestic policies do not align with his interests in upcoming elections.
The comments came during a meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei, whose country will hold midterm elections for its legislature later this month. US presidents generally do not comment on candidates in democratic elections in other countries.
Referring to an opponent who is “far left” and follows a “philosophy that got Argentina into this problem in the first place,” Trump warned that the United States would not “waste our time with largesse toward Buenos Aires” if Milei doesn’t get his way. In addition to the midterm elections, which will involve a referendum on his policies, Milei himself is up for re-election in 2027.
“We’re not going to let anybody get into office and waste this country’s tax money. I’m not going to let that happen,” Trump said in the Cabinet Room as he prepared to have lunch with Milei. “If he loses, we will not be generous to Argentina.”
Still, Trump insisted that the $20 billion in aid to Argentina, which administration officials strongly deny is a bailout, was about supporting “our neighbors” and not any connection to the upcoming midterm elections.
“It simply helps a great philosophy conquer a great country,” said the US president. “Argentina is one of the most beautiful countries I’ve ever seen and we want to make it happen. It’s very simple.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that the government is confident Milei’s coalition will “do quite well and continue its reform agenda” in the upcoming midterm elections.
Opening his lunch with Milei, Trump noted that the Argentine president, an economist by profession, is “MAGA through and through.” That traditionally refers to his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” but this time it also meant “Make Argentina Great Again.”
Trump’s meeting with Milei already caused a stir in Argentina when Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, leader of the left-leaning Peronist opposition and former two-term president, wrote on social media: “Trump to Milei: ‘Our agreements are subject to the winner of the election’. Argentines… you know what to do!”
The former president has been serving a six-year sentence under house arrest since June for corruption but remains the most influential leader of Peronism, an ideologically elastic, labor rights-focused populist movement that emerged in the 1940s and dominated politics for decades.
Before and during his meeting at the White House, Milei heaped praise on Trump, employing a tactic that has helped transform Milei’s financially struggling country into one of the Trump administration’s closest allies.
Milei said in Spanish that he felt “very honored, especially in this moment when we thank Trump for his great leadership.”
“We can take a peaceful path and make Argentina a strong example of freedom and prosperity,” Milei said.
This friendship has already paid off for Argentina – most recently in the form of a rescue package worth $20 billion.
Turning to Trump in a crisis
The Trump administration made a highly unusual decision to intervene in Argentina’s foreign exchange market after Milei’s party suffered a landslide defeat in a local election last month.
Along with setbacks in the opposition-dominated Congress, the party’s crushing defeat led to a crisis of confidence as voters in Buenos Aires province expressed frustration over rising unemployment, shrinking economic activity and looming corruption scandals.
Worried that this would signal the end of public support for Milei’s free market program, investors dumped Argentine bonds and sold the peso.
Argentina’s finance ministry began destroying valuable dollar reserves at a feverish pace, trying to support the currency and keep the exchange rate within the trading range set under the country’s recent $20 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund.
But as the peso continued to depreciate, Milei became desperate.
He met Trump on September 23 while in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly. A flurry of backslapping, handshakes and mutual flattery between the two quickly led to Bessent publicly promising a $20 billion lifeline to Argentina.
The markets rejoiced and investors breathed a sigh of relief.
Timing is everything
In the days that followed, Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo spent hours in meetings in Washington trying to seal the deal.
The reassurance came last Thursday when Bessent announced that the US would allow Argentina to exchange up to $20 billion worth of pesos for the same amount in dollars. Bessent said the success of Milei’s program was “of systemic importance,” adding that the U.S. Treasury directly purchased an unspecified amount of pesos.
The timing was inopportune for the Trump administration as it struggles to navigate the optics of bailing out a nine-time serial defaulter amid a U.S. government shutdown that has led to mass layoffs. Democratic lawmakers and other critics have called it an example of Trump rewarding loyalists at the expense of American taxpayers.
Later Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts — singled out by both Bessent and Trump during the White House meeting — tried to introduce a bill that would block $20 billion in U.S. aid, but the move failed in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Warren said Trump was only helping Argentina to support Milei, saying: “This is Argentina first, not America first.”
But for Argentina, US aid came just in time.
Aware that a delicate currency could jeopardize his signature achievement of curbing inflation and hurt his popularity, Milei hopes to stave off what many economists see as an inevitable currency devaluation until after the Oct. 26 midterm elections. A devaluation of the peso would likely lead to a rebound in inflation.
The lectures are also about artificial intelligence
Another item on the agenda was the Stargate project, which would expand a network of massive artificial intelligence centers into Latin America, according to a person with knowledge of the plans who was granted anonymity to discuss private discussions.
Argentina could be home to Latin America’s first Stargate, a joint initiative by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank that will build a network of huge data centers that would power OpenAI’s artificial intelligence technology. It is an initiative promoted by Trump himself.
Milei also attended a White House ceremony honoring Charlie Kirk, the prominent right-wing political activist who was fatally shot last month. Milei’s paths often crossed with Kirk on the speaking circuit of the rising global right.
There is no word on how Argentina, the IMF’s largest debtor, will ultimately repay the US that $20 billion, which is on top of the IMF loan of the same amount in April. And that’s in addition to an earlier $40 billion IMF loan.
Despite all the support, Milei’s government was already failing to meet the IMF’s initial goals for rebuilding foreign reserves.
“The U.S. should be concerned that Argentina had to pay back $20 billion so quickly after receiving $14 billion in advance from the IMF,” said Brad Setser, a former Treasury official who now works at the Council on Foreign Relations.
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Debre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Stephen Groves in Washington and Matt O’Brien in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.
