The day after President Trump antagonized world leaders throughout the globe together with his most sweeping set of tariffs but, he was scheduled to fly to Florida and probably see the one chief he has referred to as his “favourite president.”
That chief, President Javier Milei of Argentina, had flown in a single day to obtain an award on Thursday at a right-wing gala at Mar-a-Lago. Mr. Trump was scheduled to even be there late Thursday — Mr. Milei mentioned Mr. Trump would obtain an award, too — and Mr. Milei mentioned he hoped the 2 would meet.
It was Mr. Milei’s tenth journey to america in 15 months as president, and practically each time, he has met Mr. Trump or Elon Musk.
Mr. Trump has posited that he’s reshuffling U.S. international coverage strictly round what is nice for america.
So what will be puzzling about his elevation of Argentina to the entrance row of America’s allies — Mr. Milei and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy have been the one world leaders onstage at Mr. Trump’s inauguration — is that the chronically distressed South American nation isn’t notably essential as an financial or geopolitical companion.
As an alternative, by Mr. Milei, Argentina has provided Mr. Trump one thing else he seems to crave: adoration.
“I really like him as a result of he loves Trump,” Mr. Trump mentioned of Mr. Milei in a speech final yr. “Anyone that loves me, I like them.”
Mr. Milei has repeatedly and publicly lauded Mr. Trump. He has posted doctored pictures of them embracing. He has gifted Mr. Musk a customized chain noticed. And when Mr. Milei grew to become the primary world chief to go to Mr. Trump after the U.S. election, he danced round Mar-a-Lago and instructed the group, “At present the world is a significantly better place.”
Carlos Kikuchi, a conservative speak radio host in Argentina who helped run Mr. Milei’s marketing campaign, mentioned that, to the Argentine chief, “having such a clean relationship with Trump and Musk is like touching heaven.”
Mr. Milei has translated his devotion into coverage. Weeks after Mr. Trump mentioned he would pull america from the World Well being Group, Mr. Milei did the identical with Argentina.
After Mr. Trump exited the Paris Local weather Settlement, Mr. Milei’s authorities mentioned it was wanting into doing so, too. Mr. Milei fired his first international minister as a result of she voted on the United Nations — as Argentina all the time had — towards the U.S. embargo on Cuba.
And after Mr. Trump started criticizing Ukraine — a nation Mr. Milei had steadfastly supported for years — Argentina abstained from a U.N. vote to sentence Russia for its invasion.
Mr. Milei has additionally turn into one of many loudest voices within the tradition wars, happening a world talking tour of types to assault leftists, feminists and transgender individuals, and to laud Mr. Trump because the champion who will, in Mr. Milei’s telling, save the West from “woke ideology.”
“Each time we meet with President Trump, he all the time says, ‘I like this man,’” Gerardo Werthein, Argentina’s new international minister, mentioned this week. “He all the time says, ‘He’s MAGA like me: Make Argentina Nice Once more.’”
Mr. Trump has praised Mr. Milei’s work in stabilizing Argentina’s financial system. Certainly, Mr. Milei has succeeded in reducing inflation, growing progress and balancing the finances.
But, for america, Argentina stays an ungainly match as a strategic companion. The nation of 46 million is geographically separated from a lot of the world and has been caught for many years in cycles of financial disaster.
The 2 international locations additionally promote most of the identical issues: corn, wheat, soybeans, meat, oil. Commerce between them fell 8.6 % to $16.3 billion final yr. Argentina ranks thirty sixth globally in shopping for American exports, in keeping with the Observatory of Financial Complexity, a analysis group.
On Wednesday, Argentina, was nonetheless hit with the ten % minimal levy utilized to almost each nation.
However Mr. Milei, who describes himself as a radical libertarian, discovered a brilliant aspect. “Mates will likely be associates,” he wrote on social media, linking to the Queen track after which sharing posts arguing that Argentina had gained a bonus over international locations hit with larger tariffs.
Arguably the most important potential prize for america is Argentina’s massive stockpiles of strategic minerals, together with lithium, a essential part of renewable batteries. American and Chinese language corporations are main gamers in Argentina’s increasing lithium mines, and Tesla — run by Mr. Musk — buys Argentine lithium for its electric-car batteries.
U.S. diplomats have urged the Milei administration to maneuver away from China, together with by limiting China’s entry to lithium and rare-earth parts, in keeping with a former senior Milei administration official and senior U.S. diplomat who spoke anonymously to debate non-public talks.
But Argentina’s commerce with China has elevated beneath Mr. Milei, and China stays a bigger buying and selling companion than america, shopping for soybeans, silver and beef.
Thus far, then, it might be Mr. Milei who has gained probably the most from the brand new friendship.
Argentina is looking for a $20 billion mortgage from the Worldwide Financial Fund and, because the fund’s greatest stakeholder, Washington holds the important thing vote. Argentine officers have mentioned they anticipate to have Mr. Trump’s assist.
Lucía Cholakian Herrera contributed reporting.
