Trump Dangles $20 Billion Lifeline for Argentina, With Strings Attached.
President Trump said on Tuesday that Washington’s $20 billion bailout for Argentina comes with strings attached — namely, that the ruling party of his ally, President Javier Milei of Argentina, must prevail in the country’s legislative elections this month.
“If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House, where he was meeting with Mr. Milei. Just minutes earlier, Mr. Trump had denied the economic lifeline was meant to help Mr. Milei’s party in the elections.
“I think he’s going to win,” Mr. Trump added. “And if he wins, we’re staying with him, and if he doesn’t win, we’re gone.”
Mr. Trump’s comments made clear that he viewed the financial support for Argentina as a lifeline not just for the country’s economy, but also for a leader willing to spread his pro-capitalist — and pro-Trump — ideology in Latin America.
“Just helping a great philosophy take over a great country,” Mr. Trump said, adding that financial success of Argentina would be a “great feather in the cap of the U.S.A.”
Mr. Trump’s bailout of Argentina has come with political blowback at home. Democrats have seized on the bailout to accuse Mr. Trump of helping out a foreign government and wealthy investors while the U.S. government remains shut down because of a dispute over extending health care subsidies.
Major hedge funds, including those led by friends of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, could benefit financially from the bailout. Funds at investment firms including BlackRock, Fidelity and Pimco are heavily invested in Argentina, as are investors who worked with Mr. Bessent when he was an investor for George Soros.
“President Trump seems to think it’s more important to offer $20 billion to bail out Argentina than it is to make a bipartisan deal to prevent health insurance premiums from spiking for over 20 million Americans in a matter of days,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.
American farmers have also criticized the move, given that China has been buying soybeans from Argentine farmers instead of American growers this year. Mr. Trump on Tuesday said he believed China was trying to drive a wedge between the United States and Argentina by buying soybeans from Latin America.
Source: nytimes
