After Imposing Harsh Tariffs on Brazil for Trying His Populist Ally for an Insurrection, Trump Is Pledging $20 Billion of American Taxpayer Money to Bailout His Libertarian Pal in Argentina

Sep 24, 2025

While the U.S. government shuts down for lack of funds, Donald Trump can still find $20 billion to bail out Argentina from a financial crisis. What’s worse is that he is doing this for nakedly political reasons: to support a political ally, Argentina’s President Javier Milei. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent openly describes the bailout as giving Milei a “bridge to the election.”

Bloomberg reports:

The U.S. plans to extend a $20 billion swap line to Argentina and is ready to buy the country’s foreign bonds, providing much-needed financial support to President Javier Milei as he tries to regain investor confidence and stem a run on the peso.
Terms of the deal are still being negotiated, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X early Wednesday that sparked a brief rally in Argentine assets. He made clear in an interview on Fox News that the financing was meant to help Milei ahead of a crucial midterm vote next month, aiding an ideological ally in a region where President Donald Trump has few friends in power. …
Bessent described the aid as a “bridge to the election,” referring to the Oct. 26 vote in which Milei is looking to boost his libertarian party’s presence in Congress. …
Bessent’s plan would mark an extraordinary turnabout for a US president who was elected on a promise to limit American military and financial interventions overseas in favor of focusing on domestic concerns. Since taking office, Trump has slashed billions in foreign aid and cut or suspended military assistance for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. But in the case of Argentina, Trump appears to be coming to the aid of a leader whom the administration views as an ideological ally.

This turnaround on “America First” is a particular kick in the gut to American farmers, who have seen their exports collapse because of Trump’s trade war—while Argentina takes our place. But at least this helps one American. Popular Information reports that the bailout will rescue a hedge-fund billionaire and friend of Bessent who bet big on Milei’s economic policies.

The funds of the U.S. Treasury are supposed to be used to promote the financial stability of the United States, not to help the president’s friends—nor to support his global political project to prop up right-wing leaders.

Earlier this year, Trump hit Brazil with ideologically-driven tariffs because it put his populist ally—and fellow insurrectionist—on trial, but is now promising to bailout its neighbor, Argentina, to the tune of $20 billion to help his ally politically.

The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.

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