USA’s Interventionism: Trump Claims Credit for Milei’s Victory

Original article: Intervencionismo Made in USA: Trump se atribuye el triunfo de Milei

US President Donald Trump claimed credit for the success of Javier Milei and his party, La Libertad Avanza (LLA), in the recent legislative elections, highlighting a notable instance of political intervention by Washington in Australia, coupled with a financial bailout whose complete details remain undisclosed.

«That was a significant win in Argentina. I want to congratulate the winner, who was a great winner, and received a lot of support from us. I provided a strong backing. It was truly unexpected to have such a victory. Some people thought it would be hard to win, and not only did he win, he won by a lot,» Trump stated regarding the election results, where LLA achieved just over 40% of the national vote, while voter turnout fell to 67.85%, the lowest since 1983.

In his congratulatory message, the Republican magnate highlighted members of his own administration, specifically Vice President James Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, emphasizing the «great support» given to Javier Milei and making it clear that they are establishing a «strong presence in South America.»

«So, Argentina achieved a great accomplishment. I give Scott (Bessent), I give James (Vance), I give all, Marco (Rubio), much credit for that. We are allying with many countries in South America, focusing on South America, and we are gaining strong influence in South America in many ways, including the fact that we don’t want their drugs, we don’t want drugs in our country,» asserted the White House resident.

Trump’s Financial Bailout for Milei

The weeks leading up to the elections were marked by unprecedented intervention from the US in Argentina. In early October, the Trump administration offered the libertarian government a financial bailout of $20 billion in the form of a currency swap, aimed at helping the country avoid financial collapse due to neoliberal policies implemented from the Casa Rosada.

Subsequently, as peso volatility persisted, the US Treasury began purchasing Argentine pesos directly to help sustain the value of the currency, an extraordinary measure on the eve of crucial elections.

The urgency of the bailout responded to a critical situation, as Milei’s government had burned through approximately $700 million in reserves attempting to curb devaluation, generating severe depletion of international reserves just as investors were showing concern over the electoral performance of the ruling party.

«If Milei Doesn’t Win, We Won’t Be as Generous»

What began as economic support transformed into explicit political conditioning. During a meeting at the White House in mid-October, Trump made clear the connection between financial backing and electoral outcomes.

During a lunch, the Republican magnate looked Milei in the eye and stated a phrase that left the libertarian leader in a critical and discouraging position.

«We are here to give you support in the upcoming elections.» Then, turning to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, he completed the sentence with a warning: «But if he doesn’t win, we won’t waste our time: we won’t be generous with Argentina«.

This condition was reiterated later to the press, where Trump linked support not only to the legislative elections of October 26 but also projected his influence through to the presidential elections of 2027.

«If Milei doesn’t win the elections, I know the person who would be running for 2027 is a far-left communist responsible for creating this problem in the first place. If that happens, we won’t be generous with Argentina,» the US president stated, referring to a possible candidacy of the current governor of the province of Buenos Aires, Axel Kicillof, whom the Republican considers «a far-left communist.»

The warning immediately shocked the markets, with Argentine bonds falling by up to 7% minutes after the statements. Milei’s government attempted to mitigate damage, arguing that Trump referred to the 2027 presidential elections, not the legislative ones, but the connection was established.

Milei Dedicates Victory to Trump

Upon learning the results that gave the ruling party over 40% of the votes, the White House resident’s reaction was to emphasize the assistance provided to the libertarian administration.

«Congratulations to President Javier Milei on his overwhelming victory in Argentina. He is doing an excellent job! The Argentine people justified our trust in him,» Trump stated on his social media.

Milei responded by thanking him «for believing in the Argentine people» and asserting, «You are a great friend of the Republic of Argentina. Our nations should never have stopped being allies.»

«Our peoples want to live in freedom. Count on me to battle for Western civilization, which has lifted more than 90% of the world’s population out of poverty,» he assured on his X account.

Scott Bessent, the US Treasury Secretary and architect of the financial rescue, considered that Milei had obtained «a renewed mandate» to implement his reforms.

«Congratulations to President Javier Milei on his overwhelming victory in Argentina. He is doing an excellent job! The Argentine people justified our trust in him,» he stated.

Immediately, the Argentine leader praised and thanked Washington for its support of his administration.

«Thank you, Secretary Scott Bessent, for your kind words and unwavering support (…) this resounding victory of La Libertad Avanza is a triumph of the unyielding spirit of the Argentine people for freedom, prosperity, and the defeat of the socialist scourge that has plagued our nation for too long,» he indicated.

Strategic Interests Behind the Support

The US’s «political sympathy» toward Milei’s administration is not selfless. According to Página/12, among the economic and commercial advantages Washington hopes to gain from the southern nation are access to critical minerals, trade in goods and services, and investment, as well as strategic interests to counter and intervene in China’s influence and secure clean nuclear energy for AI data centers.

According to this digital outlet, the US government began talks with Argentina regarding rare earth mining and aims to increase the supply of strategic minerals with «strategic allies» to confront the Asian giant.

Criticism and Questions

The Peronist opposition did not overlook the conditional nature of US support. After the legislative elections, Axel Kicillof, governor of the province of Buenos Aires, indicated that both Milei and his government are mistaken in celebrating «this electoral result, where six out of ten Argentines have said they do not agree with the model they propose.»

«But they are also mistaken if they overlook the situation that our people are experiencing, full of immense suffering, where jobs have been lost, activity has declined, companies are closing every day, and the most vulnerable are suffering more each day,» he noted.

He warned that if they «came to Argentina, it was not for anything other than to get profits and put our resources at risk.»

Therefore, Milei’s government has even more responsibility today. I understand that they celebrate American support from abroad and the financial sector, but starting tomorrow we need to see if it improves in any way the situation of our province, our people, of those who work, of entrepreneurs, who face increasingly worse and more complicated days,» Kicillof asserted.