Argentina’s libertarian leader offered strong praise for Donald Trump ahead of his first White House meeting with the U.S. president on Tuesday.
This approach has coincided with closer ties between President Javier Milei’s government and the Trump administration.
Milei’s outspoken style — including significant reductions in government spending and criticism of progressive movements — has drawn attention from U.S. conservatives.
“Your commitment to life, freedom and peace has restored hope to the world,” Milei wrote on social media Monday, congratulating the U.S. president on securing a ceasefire deal in Gaza, where a truce is holding after a devastating, two-year Israel-Hamas war.
“It is an honor to consider you not only an ally in the defense of those values, but also a dear friend and an example of leadership that inspires all those who believe in freedom,” he said.
The close relationship between Trump and Milei has coincided with U.S. financial support for Argentina, including a $20 billion bailout.
Experts say Milei comes to the White House with two clear objectives. One is to negotiate U.S. tariff exemptions or reductions for Argentine products.
The other is to see how the United States will implement a $20 billion currency swap line to support Argentina’s peso and replenish its foreign currency reserves ahead of crucial midterm elections later this month.
The Trump administration made a decision to intervene in Argentina’s currency market after Milei's party suffered a landslide loss in a local election last month.
Along with setbacks in the opposition-dominated Congress, the party's defeat created a crisis of confidence as voters in Buenos Aires Province registered their frustration with rising unemployment, contracting economic activity, and ongoing corruption scandals.
Investors reacted by selling Argentine bonds and the peso, as concerns grew that support for Milei's free-market program was weakening.
Argentina’s Treasury began losing dollar reserves at a rapid pace while attempting to stabilize the currency and maintain the exchange rate within the trading band set as part of the country’s recent $20 billion agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
As the peso continued to weaken, Milei intensified efforts to stabilize the economy.
He met with Trump on Sept. 23 while in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly. A series of cordial meetings between the two leaders preceded an announcement by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who publicly promised Argentina a $20 billion financial lifeline.
Markets responded positively, and investors expressed relief.
In the days that followed, Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo spent hours in meetings in Washington to finalize the agreement.
Reassurance came last Thursday, when Bessent announced that the U.S. would allow Argentina to exchange up to $20 billion worth of pesos for an equal sum in dollars.
Saying that the success of Milei’s program was “of systemic importance,” Bessent added that the U.S. Treasury directly purchased an unspecified amount of pesos.
The Trump administration faced scrutiny over the decision, given Argentina’s history of multiple debt defaults and ongoing U.S. budget challenges.
For Argentina, the move came at a critical time.
Aware of how a weak currency could threaten his efforts to control inflation and affect his popularity, Milei hopes to prevent what many economists see as a possible currency devaluation until after the Oct. 26 midterm elections.
A devaluation of the peso would likely fuel a resurgence in inflation.
“Milei is going to the U.S. in a moment of desperation now," said Marcelo J. García, political analyst and Director for the Americas at the Horizon Engage political risk consultancy firm.
“He needs to recreate market expectations and show that his program can be sustainable,” García added. “The government is trying to win some time to make it to the midterms without major course corrections, like devaluing or floating the peso.”
Milei was vague when pressed for details on his talks with Trump, expected later on Tuesday. Officials said he would have a two-hour meeting with the U.S. president, followed by a working lunch with other top officials.
He was also expected to participate in a ceremony at the White House honoring Charlie Kirk, the prominent right-wing political activist who was fatally shot last month.
Milei often crossed paths with Kirk on the speaking circuit of the growing global right.
“We don’t have a single-issue agenda, but rather a multi-issue agenda,” Milei told El Observador radio in Buenos Aires Monday.
“Things that are already finalized will be announced, and things that still need to be finalized will remain pending.”
Democrat lawmakers and other critics questioned whether the Trump administration’s currency swap deal favored political allies, arguing it could burden American taxpayers.
There has been no word on how Argentina, the IMF's largest debtor, will repay the U.S. for this $20 billion, which comes on top of the IMF’s own loan for the same amount in April. That loan followed an earlier IMF package of $40 billion.
Despite this support, Milei's government has already missed the IMF's early targets for rebuilding currency reserves.
"The U.S. should be concerned that Argentina has had to return for $20 billion so quickly after getting $14 billion upfront from the IMF,” said Brad Setser, a former Treasury official now at the Council on Foreign Relations.
“I worry that this may prove to just be a short-term bridge and won’t leave Argentina better equipped” to tackle its problems, he added.
In a radio interview before his flight, Milei expressed strong appreciation for U.S. support, saying it helped Argentina counter “the local franchise of 21st-century socialism” and spoke optimistically about the country’s economic potential.
“There will be an avalanche of dollars,” Milei said. “We’ll have dollars pouring out of our ears.”
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