Trump threatens to cut US aid to Argentina if his ally President Javier Milei loses election

  US President, Donald Trump has issued a stark political threat, warning that United States financial aid to Argentina could be cut if his political and ideological ally, President Javier Milei, fails to secure a legislative victory in the country's critical midterm elections later this month.Speaking during Mileis visit to the White House on Tuesday, Trump explicitly linked the continuation of US support to the electoral success of the Argentine presidents party. "If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina," Trump stated, adding that if Milei wins, the US will "stay with him, and if he doesnt win we are gone." He offered his "full endorsement," calling Milei a great leader and invoking his own political slogan: Hes Maga all the way, its Make Argentina Great Again. The American threat is particularly potent due to Argentina's deeply struggling economy, which is grappling with high debt and a persistent currency crisis. The Trump administration, through Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, recently promised a $20 billion financial package to prop up the Argentine economy, a rare instance of direct US intervention to stabilize a Latin American currency market.This bailout comes after Argentina recently spent over $1 billion defending its currency, the peso, from a sharp decline, a strategy many economists consider unsustainable given its limited foreign reserves.The US intervention, which included the rare step of directly purchasing Argentine pesos, has been criticized as a political favor rather than a strategic economic move and has fueled speculation about what the US expects in return, particularly considering Argentina's recent deepening ties with China, a major global lithium producer. The legislative midterm elections on October 26 are critical for President Milei. His party, La Libertad Avanza, holds only a minority of seats in the Argentine Congress. A poor result would cement a "legislative brick wall" that would block his attempts to pass key cost-cutting reforms and radical deregulation measureshis core agenda for fixing the economy over the next two years of his term. Conversely, a victory would give him the necessary political mandate to push through his radical free-market policies. Trump defended the financial support against his "America First" policy by asserting that the benefit was "helping a great philosophy take over a great country. We want to see it succeed. However, financial markets remain cautious despite the aid promise, reflecting ongoing political and economic instability. The post Trump threatens to cut US aid to Argentina if his ally President Javier Milei loses election appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.