Trump Offered a Helping Hand to Argentina. It Backfired.

As President Javier Milei of Argentina faced a deepening economic crisis, President Trump rushed to the rescue of his political ally with a generous $20 billion bailout.

Then came the fine print.

To secure help from the United States, Mr. Trump made clear on Tuesday, Mr. Milei’s embattled political party would have to first pull off a victory in what are emerging as momentous and challenging legislative elections this month.

“If he doesn’t win, we’re gone,” Mr. Trump said as he welcomed Mr. Milei, who he has called his “favorite president,” to the White House. “If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina.”

In Argentina, those comments were taken by many as a clear attempt by Mr. Trump to put his thumb on a sovereign country’s electoral process.

The fallout was swift. The peso tumbled as investors went on a panicked selling spree of Argentina’s currency. Mr. Milei’s political opponents railed against what they called American extortion, urging voters to reject his party at the polls. And Mr. Milei’s government rushed to try to assure Argentines that Mr. Trump wouldn’t abandon the nation based on Mr. Milei’s political fortunes.

To many, Mr. Trump’s conditional economic support represented yet another attempt to influence, through economic sticks and carrots, the internal affairs of another Latin American country. The turmoil that followed also highlighted the risks Mr. Milei faces as he shackles his political fortunes, and Argentina’s economic future, to America’s deep pockets and Mr. Trump’s fickle friendship.

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