The rational inclination of any governing administration is to try and paint its actions as well intentioned and positive. While this was previously done by courting relations (and other forms of lobbying) with the major mass media outlets, the rise of the Internet, together with the near-universal proliferation of smartphones, has led to an almost direct line of communication between leaders and society. President Javier Milei’s obsessive use of social media, particularly X (formerly known as Twitter) grants outside observers a personally curated inside look into the Argentine president’s brain, as well as his vision of himself and the wider world. The self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist” libertarian spent an average of more than two hours per day on X last month, in some cases topping the four-hour mark, according to a dashboard put together by data specialist ‘@estoesnulo’ on the same social network.
As President Milei embarked on his 10th trip to the United States since taking office a few weeks ago, The New York Times’ South America bureau chief Jack Nicas published a piece titled, “How to become Trump’s ‘favorite president’: nonstop praise,” in which he notes the Argentine leader’s insignificance in terms of economic and geopolitical affairs, which contrasts with his value in the “culture wars.” Milei reposted about the piece at least eight times that day, using the tweets to defend himself against detractors while claiming to have positioned the country ahead of the curve in any negotiation with US President Donald Trump, particularly those regarding “reciprocal” tariffs and Argentina’s ongoing discussion with the International Monetary Fund.
It didn’t matter to Milei or his followers that Nicas indicated that his “adoration” for Trump is essentially a form of extreme sucking up to the billionaire president of the United States. The fact that Argentina’s head of state is admitting to a subservient position in his relationship with Trump by trying to become his “favorite president,” while copycatting certain aspects of his foreign policy strategy, is taken positively by Milei. It’s painted as an intelligent move – Milei “gets it” and Argentina will, in turn, benefit from his personal relationship with Trump. It’s a line that Agustín Romo, a sort of ideological guardian of Mileismo, took with the “reciprocal” tariffs introduced by the Republican leader this week, arguing that Argentina received the “lowest level” in the world. Even the fact-checking community on X — a platform owned by Milei-ally Elon Musk — indicated that Romo’s statement was false, highlighting that Argentina received the same treatment as 12 other Latin American countries – including many with leaders who are ideologically opposed to Trump such as Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Colombia’s Gustavo Petro—at the end of the day, everyone but China got the same deal. Milei’s digital troll army, controlled by controversial political advisor Santiago Caputo — who prefers the veil of anonymity for his social media interactions — agreed that Trump wasn’t being protectionist after levying “reciprocal tariffs” on the entire world, rather he was being “geopolitical” and ultimately in favor of free markets. Argentina’s special treatment was akin to signing a free-trade deal with the US, Romo had argued. The extent to which economic theory is being twisted and turned to meet their interests is fascinating.
Much like with his predecessors, Milei enjoys his time abroad. Both former presidents Alberto Fernández and Mauricio Macri collected praise every time they jumped on a plane, escaping the day-to-day vicissitudes of Argentina and the barrage of criticism that comes with the job. While his predecessors generally travelled on official state visits, Milei has not yet been formally invited to the White House, instead participating in events hosted by the conservative branch of the Republican Party and Trump followers, many of them at the billionaire’s resort of Mar-a-Lago. His trips to the US and elsewhere to receive awards and give talks help to cement his celebrity status within the “new right” movement at a global level. It also helps him have a feel for the “Trump business model” – according to Clarín’s Natasha Niebieskikwiat, tickets for the American Patriots Gala hosted a few weeks ago started at $750, donations ranging $5 to $5,000 were accepted, while a candlelight dinner with POTUS was worth between $1 million and $5 million. The difference between Trump’s personal and business world and the Presidency of the United States is once again gradually disappearing as the political incorrectness of his conflict of interests becomes politically correct. With the $Libra crypto scandal, Milei was trying to follow suit. Amateurishly.
The backdrop to the trip is a global trade war. Markets across the globe have been reeling since The Donald’s inauguration. Trump suggests the world has taken advantage of the US by absorbing its riches and taking away its manufacturing jobs. Through tariffs, he will bring factories back and go full ‘MAGA’ (“make America great again”).
It is unclear whether tariffs have the potential to reshore manufacturing back to the US while balancing global trade. Most economists believe the opposite, actually. Former World Bank chief economist Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg argued in a column for Project Syndicate that the real goal behind the tariffs could be fiscal, generating “revenue so that foreign countries are effectively subsidizing tax cuts for US residents.” She disputes the effectiveness of the measure, noting it will be undercut by retaliatory tariffs, but opens a window of optimism by indicating this crisis could help establish new rules for multilateral trade. Trump’s flipflopping on the issue, together with intense volatility in global markets makes it impossible to prognosticate what will come next from the US.
In that context, Argentina’s economy remained relatively closed thanks to the ‘cepo’ currency controls, allowing it to weather the storm initially. Yet, the Central Bank was forced to sell some $3 billion in about a month in order to maintain the peso-dollar exchange rate relatively stable, generating a marked sense of uncertainty and anxiety among Argentine investors. This precipitated the much-anticipated deal with the International Monetary Fund, which switched the “cepo” for upper and lower “bands” outside of which the government can intervene. Temporary reprieve for Milei and Caputo ahead of the elections, but by no means is Argentina out of the woods yet.
With the IMF deal finally closed, it remains to be seen what other concessions Milei can extract from Trump given their “friendship” and ideological affinity. He’s already found himself in the middle of a “trade war battle” as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicates that Argentina should close its currency swap with China, forcing Beijing’s representatives in Buenos Aires to issue a response.
As long as the “culture wars” rage on, Milei will be seen by the “right” as an important ally.
This piece was originally published in the Buenos Aires Times, Argentina’s only English-language newspaper.
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