Journalism of Courage
US President Donald Trump on Monday congratulated Argentina’s President Javier Milei on his party’s surprise victory in the midterm elections on Sunday. In the election widely seen as a referendum on Milei’s past two years in office, his upstart La Libertad Avanza party scored over 40 per cent of votes compared with 31 per cent for the left-leaning populist opposition movement.
Trump, whose administration recently initiated a US bailout for Argentina, suggested his support helped Milei win the election.
“He had a lot of help from us,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One while on his way from Malaysia to Japan. “I gave him an endorsement, a very strong endorsement.”
“BIG WIN in Argentina for Javier Milei, a wonderful Trump Endorsed Candidate! He’s making us all look good. Congratulations Javier,” Trump said earlier in a post on Truth Social.
Milei pulled off the victory, despite struggling to maintain public support amid massive budget cuts and austerity programs meant to slow inflation.
“I am the king of a lost world,” Milei said on Sunday. “Today we have passed the turning point. Today we begin the construction of a great Argentina.”
Milei hailed the election sweep as a mandate to press forward with his spending cuts and introduce ambitious tax and labor reforms. The results also automatically position him as a candidate for re-election in 2027.
“The Argentine people have decided to leave behind 100 years of decadence,” Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist, said.
“Today we have passed the turning point. Today we begin the construction of a great Argentina.”
Trump appeared to condition a $20 billion currency swap deal with Argentina’s central bank and an additional $20 billion loan from private banks on a good showing for Milei in national midterms, threatening to rescind the assistance for the cash-strapped country in the event of an opposition victory.
“If he wins we’re staying with him, and if he doesn’t win, we’re gone,” Trump said after welcoming Milei to the White House earlier this month.
