Journalism of Courage
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday met his Argentinian counterpart, Javier Milei, at the White House, days after Washington bailed out Buenos Aires.
Trump said the Argentine libertarian leader was ‘MAGA all the way’ for ‘Make Argentina Great Again.’
Last week, in an unusual move, the US announced it was establishing a $20 billion currency swap line to prop up the Argentine peso. On Tuesday, Trump said the assistance is to help a “great philosophy take over a great country”.
“Argentina is one of the most beautiful countries that I’ve ever seen,” Trump said.
The US president stressed that it was helping “our neighbours.”
Trump also said a free trade agreement with Argentina was possible.
“We’re going to discuss some of it today …We want to help Argentina, and we want to always help ourselves, but we want to help Argentina,” Trump said.
“We will be trading with Argentina.”
Trump also said he would endorse Argentinian President Javier Milei for re-election.
Trump had already indicated during the UN General Assembly in September that he was endorsing Milei, when he handed the Argentinian leader a print-out of a Truth Social post with his endorsement.
Milei who showered Trump for his ‘great leadership’, also gifted the US President a gold-framed letter nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The glowing letter that the Argentine leader wrote expressed his “deepest admiration” for Trump and his “commitment to peace.”
Trump has long sought a Nobel Peace Prize but suggested he may never be awarded it.
Trump received nominations for the prize this year but many of them occurred after the February deadline for the 2025 award. That fell just a week and a half into his second term.
Foreign leaders who’ve sought close relations with him, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and many more, have suggested Trump should win the award or said they will nominate him.
Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the US has purchased an undisclosed amount of Argentine pesos to help stabilise the financial markets.
The US had also offered a $20 billion currency swap line, allowing Argentina’s central bank to exchange volatile pesos for stable American dollars.
The announcement came ahead of critical midterm elections in Argentina later this month, which will test Milei’s political support amid financial distress and political uncertainty in the country.
