BITTERSWEET WHITE HOUSE VISIT

President Javier Milei finally clinched last Tuesday the White House meeting with United States President Donald Trump sought throughout his 22 months in office in his 13th stateside visit but not all was sweetness and light. While warmly praising his strategic Latin American ally with “my complete and total endorsement,” Trump also conditioned US financial assistance (centred on a currency swap of US$20 billion) on electoral success in the midterms later this month. “If you don’t win, don’t count on us; if you lose, we won’t be generous with Argentina,” Milei’s host told him bluntly, also saying: “Anything can fail but we’ll give it a chance” when asked about the salvage plan’s prospects. National Security Minister Patricia Bullrich tried to argue that Trump was talking about the 2027 general elections, not the midterms, but was promptly corrected. Following a stock market slump almost immediately, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent doubled the promised assistance the next day by adding a credit of US$20 billion to the swap while continuing to buy pesos, further commenting: “President Milei has given Argentina the chance to end decades of decadence under Peronism.” Milei preceded his flight to Washington on Monday (spending the night in Blair House) by praising Trump’s feat in freeing the Gaza Strip hostages (including three of Ar