Trump threatens to cut US aid to Argentina if Milei loses election | Donald Trump
Donald Trump has warned that he could cut financial aid to Argentina if his ally Javier Milei loses key legislative elections later this month.
“If it loses, we will not be generous to Argentina,” the US president said as Milei visited the White House to seek the Republican’s political and economic support. “I’m with this man because his philosophy is right. He may win or he may not win, I think he will win. If he wins, we stay with him, if he doesn’t win, we leave.”
The Trump administration has already pledged $20 billion to support Argentina’s struggling economy, but its support has failed to calm markets or help Milei’s bid ahead of midterm elections on Oct. 26.
The election results, in which Milei hopes to boost the minority party’s seat count, will determine whether he can pass tough cost-cutting reforms or face a legislative wall for the next two years of his term.
Trump, who hailed Milei as a “great leader”, said he would “fully support” his ideological ally in the elections. “He’s Maga through and through, ‘Make Argentina Great Again,’” he added.
But Trump has faced questions about how a massive bailout of Argentina fits with the same “America First” policy. When asked by journalists what his benefit was to the United States, Trump replied: “We are helping a great philosophy take over a great country. We want to see it succeed.”
As Argentina struggles to recover from a new financial crisis and Milei’s disapproval ratings rise, the country’s president has turned to right-wing ally Trump for help.
Trump has repeatedly voiced his political support for Milei, backing it up with promises of major economic aid, but markets remain fearful of Argentina. In recent weeks the heavily indebted country has had to spend more than $1 billion defending the peso; a strategy that most economists believe is unsustainable.
This prompted Milei’s allies in Washington to step in with a financial rescue package. “Argentina faces serious illiquidity,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week, announcing a $20 billion deal.
The announcement sent Argentine bonds and stocks higher and helped ease pressure on the peso. It also marked a rare example of direct US intervention in Latin American foreign exchange markets, underscoring Washington’s strategic interest in Milei’s success.
There is heated speculation in Argentina about what Trump might want from Milei in return for his support. Before Milei came to power, Argentina, a major lithium producer, was deepening its ties with China.
Argentina’s presidential office said the leaders would discuss “multiple issues.”
Trump also threatened Tuesday with trade penalties, including tariffs, against Spain, saying he was unhappy with Spain’s refusal to raise defense spending to 5% and calling the move disrespectful of NATO.
“I’m very unhappy with Spain,” he told reporters at the White House. “They’re the only country that hasn’t increased their numbers to 5%. I’ve been thinking about giving them trade penalties through tariffs for what they’ve done, and I think I can do that.”
Although NATO leaders agreed in June to increase military spending to 5 percent, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez granted an exemption at the last minute, saying Spain would only spend up to 2.1 percent. Madrid argued that it compensated for lower spending with strong troop contributions to NATO missions, including deployments in Latvia, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Türkiye.
