Trump: U.S. support for Argentina hinges on upcoming elections

[President Trump Meets With Visiting Argentine President Milei At The White House]
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images News

U.S. financial support for Argentina is conditional on Javier Milei remaining in power, President Donald Trump has warned, ahead of the South American country's midterm legislative elections scheduled for next weekend.

"I'm with this man because his philosophy is correct," Trump said during a meeting with Milei at the White House. "We think he's going to win. And if he does win, we're going to be very helpful."

"And if he doesn't win, we're not going to waste our time, because you have somebody whose philosophy has no chance of making Argentina great again," Trump warned. "We're not going to let somebody get into office and squander the taxpayer money from this country."

Trump's remarks come days after the U.S. Treasury finalized a $20B currency swap framework with Argentina and directly purchased Argentine pesos (ARS:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ARS:USD]).

"Trump to Milei: 'Our agreements are subject to whoever wins the election.' Argentines … you know what to do," Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, leader of the left-leaning Peronist party, posted on X. She is currently serving a six-year sentence under house arrest for corruption.

Argentina's benchmark Merval Index (MERVAL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MERVAL]) ended 2.1% lower on Tuesday, while the S&P Argentina ADR Index (BKAR:IND [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BKAR:IND]), which tracks Argentine stocks traded in U.S. exchanges, closed down 5.7%.

MORE ON ARGENTINA

* ARGT: Downgrading To Hold Post Elections [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4823149-argt-etf-downgrading-to-hold-post-elections]
* ARGT: Long-Term Bullish, Short-Term Speculative Until October Elections [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4820860-argt-long-term-bullish-short-term-speculative-until-october-elections]
* U.S. finalizes $20B currency swap framework with Argentina, directly buys pesos [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4503202-us-finalizes-20b-currency-swap-framework-with-argentina-directly-buys-pesos]