Trump threatens to pull support for Argentina if its politics move leftward

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to pull assistance for Argentina — led by a political kindred spirit whose philosophy is similar to that of the Republican administration — if the nation’s internal politics don’t align with his interests in upcoming elections.

The comments came during a meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei, whose country is set to hold midterm elections for its legislative body later this month. U.S. presidents typically do not weigh in on the candidates in other countries’ democratic elections.

Referring to an opponent who was “extremely far-left” and encompassed a “philosophy that got Argentina into this problem in the first place," Trump warned that the United States wouldn't “waste our time” with largesse toward Buenos Aires if Milei does not prevail. In addition to the midterms that will be a referendum on his policies, Milei himself is up for reelection in 2027.

“We're not going to let somebody get into office and squander the taxpayer money from this country. I'm not gonna let it happen,” Trump said from the Cabinet Room as he prepared to eat lunch with Milei. “If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina.”

Even so, Trump insisted that the $20 billion assistance to Argentina, which administration officials strenuously deny is a bailout, was about helping “our neighbors" rather than any ties to the upcoming midterms.

“It's just helping a great philosophy take over a great country,” the U.S. president said. "Argentina is one of the most beautiful countries that I've ever seen, and we want to see it succeed. It's very simple."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that the administration believed Milei’s coalition in the upcoming midterms would “do quite well and continue his reform agenda.”

As he opened his lunch with Milei, Trump noted that the Argentine president, who is an economist by trade, is “MAGA all the way.” That traditionally refers to his campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again," but this time, it also meant “Make Argentina Great Again."

Trump's meeting with Milei was already making waves back in Argentina, with Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, leader of the left-leaning Peronist opposition and a two-term former president, writing on social media: “Trump to Milei: ´Our agreements are subject to whoever wins election´. Argentines ... you know what to do!”

The former president is serving a six-year sentence under house arrest since June for corruption, but she remains the most influential leader of Peronism, an ideologically flexible, labor rights-focused populist movement, which emerged in the 1940s and dominated politics for decades.

Ahead of his White House meeting and during it Milei lavished praise on Trump, deploying a tactic that has helped transform Milei's cash-strapped country into one of the Trump administration’s closest allies.

Milei, speaking in Spanish, said he is “very honored, especially in this moment when we are giving thanks for Trump’s great leadership.”

“We can follow a peaceful route and make Argentina a strong example for freedom and prosperity,” Milei said.

That bromance has already paid off for Argentina — most recently, to the tune of a $20 billion bailout.

The Trump administration made a highly unusual decision to intervene in Argentina’s currency market after Milei's party suffered a landslide loss in a local election last month.

Along with setbacks in the opposition-dominated Congress, the party's crushing defeat created a crisis of confidence as voters in Buenos Aires Province registered their frustration with rising unemployment, contracting economic activity and brewing corruption scandals.

Alarmed that this could herald the end of popular support for Milei's free-market program, investors dumped Argentine bonds and sold off the peso.

Argentina’s Treasury began hemorrhaging precious dollar reserves at a feverish pace, trying shore up the currency and keep its exchange rate within the trading band set as part of the country’s recent $20 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund.

But as the peso continued to slide, Milei grew desperate.

He met with Trump on Sept. 23 while in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly. A flurry of back-slapping, hand-shaking and mutual flattery between the two quickly gave way to Bessent publicly promising Argentina a lifeline of $20 billion.

Markets cheered, and investors breathed a sigh of relief.

In the days that followed, Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo spent hours in meetings in Washington trying to seal the deal.

Reassurance came last Thursday, when Bessent announced that the U.S. would allow Argentina to exchange up to $20 billion worth of pesos for an equal sum in dollars. Saying that the success of Milei’s program was “of systemic importance,” Bessent added that the U.S. Treasury directly purchased an unspecified amount of pesos.

For the Trump administration, the timing was awkward as it struggles to manage the optics of bailing out a nine-time serial defaulter in the middle of a U.S. government shutdown that has led to mass layoffs. Democratic lawmakers and other critics have slammed it as an example of Trump rewarding loyalists at the expense of American taxpayers.

Later Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts — who was singled out during the White House meeting by both Bessent and Trump — tried to advance a bill that would block the $20 billion in U.S. assistance, but the gambit failed in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Saying Trump was only aiding Argentina to help Milei, Warren said, “That's Argentina first, not America first.”

But for Argentina, the U.S. help came in the nick of time.

Aware of how a weak currency could threaten his flagship achievement of taming inflation and hurt his popularity, Milei hopes to stave off what many economists see as an inescapable currency devaluation until after the Oct. 26 midterm elections. A devaluation of the peso would likely fuel a resurgence in inflation.

Another topic that had been on the agenda was the Stargate project, which would expand a network of massive artificial intelligence centers to Latin America, according to a person with knowledge of the plans who was granted anonymity to speak about private discussions.

Argentina could be home to Latin America’s first Stargate, which is a joint initiative from OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank that will build a network of big data centers that would power OpenAI’s artificial intelligence technology. It’s an initiative that’s been championed by Trump himself.

Milei also joined a ceremony at the White House honoring Charlie Kirk, the prominent right-wing political activist who was fatally shot last month. Milei often crossed paths with Kirk on the speaking circuit of the ascendant global right.

There has been no word on how Argentina, the IMF's largest debtor, will end up paying the U.S. back for this $20 billion, which comes on top of IMF’s own loan for the same amount in April. And that one came on top of an earlier IMF loan for $40 billion.

Despite all the help, Milei's government already missed the IMF's early targets for rebuilding currency reserves.

"The U.S. should be concerned that Argentina has had to return for $20 billion so quickly after getting $14 billion upfront from the IMF,” said Brad Setser, a former Treasury official now at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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Debre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Stephen Groves in Washington and Matt O'Brien in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.

Argentina's President Javier Milei, is seated before President Donald Trump arrives to present the Presidential Medal of Freedom for Charlie Kirk to his widow Erika Kirk in the Rose Garden of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Argentina's President Javier Milei stands as President Donald Trump recognizes him as he speaks before posthumously awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk in the Rose Garden of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Argentina's President Javier Milei listens during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump listens to Vice President JD Vance during a meeting with Argentina's President Javier Milei in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Argentina's President Javier Milei in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump greets Argentina's President Javier Milei at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump greets Argentina's President Javier Milei at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Argentina's President Javier Milei arrives at Ezeiza Prison Complex to present a draft reform of the criminal code to be sent to the Congress in Ezeiza, Argentina, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

PARIS (AP) — Ukraine on Monday signed a letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale warplanes from France, the Ukrainian Embassy and the French president’s office said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron signed the document stating that Ukraine is considering the possibility of buying French defense equipment, including Rafale jet fighters, Macron’s office said. It did not provide further details.

Zelenskyy was on his ninth visit to Paris since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. His talks are meant to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses as the country enters another winter under Russian bombardment of its energy infrastructure and other targets.

On Monday morning, Macron and Zelenskyy visited an air base in the Paris outskirts, before heading to the headquarters of a multinational force, dubbed the “coalition of the willing,” that France and Britain have been preparing with more than 30 other nations to police an eventual ceasefire in Ukraine.

French officials say the force could be deployed immediately after a ceasefire and would be stationed away from the front lines in an effort to help dissuade renewed Russian attacks. Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far rejected calls for a ceasefire as his troops make creeping gains on the battlefield.

Zelenskyy wrote on X on Sunday that he looked forward to a “historic deal with France in Paris to strengthen our combat aviation and air defense." He made a stop to Greece on his way to France to sign an agreement to supply Ukraine with U.S. liquefied natural gas.

Last month, Ukraine and Sweden signed an agreement exploring the possibility of Ukraine buying up to 150 Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets over the next decade or more. Ukraine has already received American-made F-16s and French Mirages.

France is among major suppliers of defense assistance to Ukraine, including air defense systems and fighter jets.

The chief of the French defense staff, Air Force Gen. Fabien Mandon, this month told French senators that Ukraine needs immediate additional air defenses because Russia is on average targeting the country with about 1,700 drones per week and also hitting it with missiles.

He said that European-made SAMP/T ground-to-air systems that France provided are proving more effective than U.S.-made Patriot batteries against hard-to-hit Russian missiles.

“We helped Ukraine by deploying missile and drone interception systems called the SAMP/T system. The Russians adapted the flight profiles of their most advanced missiles because they realized they were being intercepted by Ukrainian defenses. Today, the Patriot system is struggling to intercept them, but the SAMP/T is intercepting them,” Mandon said.

Associated Press writer John Leicester contributed to the report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 before a joint press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, visit the offices of the future international force known as the coalition of the willing, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Mont Valerien in Suresnes, outside Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands after signing an agreement Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sign an agreement Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hug after signing an agreement Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

A Rafale jet fighter is seen before the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

A Rafale jet fighter, drones and ammunitions are seen before the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

A Rafale jet fighter is seen before the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)