Trump’s cronyism crosses borders as we bail out his Argentine buddy

With a government shutdown looming, Jimmy Kimmel coming back, and former FBI Director James Comey being indicted, it would be easy to miss that the Trump administration has promised billions in taxpayer money to bail out one of the president’s buddies after he got in trouble down south.

Argentine President Javier Milei, who you may remember gave Elon Musk a “bureaucracy chain saw” onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, has put the power tools down and brought out the collection plate.

“As President [Donald] Trump has stated, we stand ready to do what is needed to support Argentina and the Argentine people,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent posted on X Wednesday. “The Treasury is currently in negotiations with Argentine officials for a $20 billion swap line with the Central Bank.”

That influx of cash is, of course, timed to the forthcoming midterm elections, as Milei is challenged over his poor handling of the economy and other political woes. Elected in 2023, the brash self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist has cut a Trumpian path, governing by decree and force of personality. But corruption allegations surrounding his sister, growing wage stagnation, and rising unemployment have him on the ropes.

Now, helping a neighbor facing hard times is not a bad thing. I was in Mexico when President Bill Clinton took it upon himself to approve a $20 billion loan in 1995 to help stabilize the peso after that country’s economic collapse. But helping the nation next door was also in America’s best interest.

The U.S. had just entered into a trade agreement, and there were American jobs dependent on exports. Clinton also pragmatically argued that a broke Mexico would likely lead to more illegal immigration and destabilize the southern border.

The gamble worked. Mexico ended up paying back the loan, along with half a billion dollars in interest, ahead of schedule. The country also continued down the road to true democracy, with an opposition party winning the presidency in 2000 for the first time in more than 70 years. But Argentina is not Mexico.

The country is hardly a top export destination for American goods (imports from China almost double what U.S. producers sell there), and Milei has already burned through $15 billion in International Monetary Fund money. Not to mention Argentina owes another $45 billion from an IMF loan taken out in 2018.

Those are a lot of hopes and dreams riding on the right-wing Milei. As U.S. Rep. French Hill, the GOP chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, wrote after a trip to Argentina recently, if Milei’s policies are successful, they could “reverse 150 years of macro financial disappointment to creditors.” I believe in long shots, but I’m not taking that bet.

Oh, wait. As a taxpayer, I guess I am.

What’s maddening about this situation is that it’s part of the cronyism that defines Trump’s second term. The president has made no secret, as usual, of what his motivations are, calling Milei “a very good friend, fighter, and winner” on Truth Social, and telling Argentines their president has his complete and total endorsement and “will never let you down!”

We can argue on the merits of propping up Argentina’s economy, but this is no way to run foreign policy in Latin America.

Not while the U.S. cozies up to the “world’s coolest dictator” (and America’s jailer) Nayib Bukele in El Salvador. Nor when we’re imposing 50% tariffs on Brazil — a country with an economy more than three times the size of Argentina’s — for convicting former president (and Trump pal) Jair Bolsonaro over a coup attempt after his electoral defeat in 2022.

Nor when Trump continues to order the extrajudicial killings of Venezuelans — at least 17 people — the White House claims were drug running in the Caribbean.

The little Republican pushback over the administration’s efforts to rescue Milei’s political career has come from U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, who objects to Argentina’s undercutting of U.S. farmers trying to sell to China. “Why would USA help bail out Argentina while they take American soybean producers’ biggest market???” Grassley posted to X on Thursday.

Not exactly a clarion call to action, but it’s a start. Maybe if we put soybeans on those Venezuelan boats the U.S. keeps blowing up, we’ll get some needed outrage from the right.

I won’t take that bet, either.