Category: Argentina
Treasury Secretary Bessent torches MSNBC over Argentina ‘bailout’ claims
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent set the record straight when MSNBC claimed that the Trump administration is providing a “bailout” to Argentina.
‘In most bailouts, you don’t make money. The US government made money.’
News broke in October that the Trump administration would implement a $20 billion currency swap with Argentina, which legacy media outlets have repeatedly described as a “bailout” for the Latin American country. Democrats criticized the plan, arguing that the administration had strayed from its America First agenda and failed to prioritize American farmers, citing trade negotiations with China that led to China temporarily suspending purchases of U.S. soybeans.
During a Friday morning interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” correspondent Jonathan Lemire asked Bessent, “How does a $20 billion bailout of Argentina help Americans?”
“Do you know what a swap line is?” Bessent replied to Lemire.
“It’s a currency swap, yes,” Lemire responded.
“Yes, but what is that?” Bessent asked.
RELATED: Trump’s ‘chainsaw’ ally wins key election in South America
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
“You’re the treasury secretary,” Lemire stated.
“Yes, but why would you call it a bailout?” Bessent questioned. “In most bailouts, you don’t make money. The U.S. government made money. We used our financial balance sheet to stabilize the government, one of our great allies in Latin America, during an election.”
He reiterated that the U.S. would make money from the arrangement, adding that he “would rather use peace through economic strength than have to be shooting at narco boats coming offshore if the [Argentinian] government collapsed.” Bessent called the situation a “generational opportunity in Latin America to create allies.”
RELATED: Trump scores win for American farmers as China commits to ‘massive’ soybean purchases
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“By stabilizing the economy there and making a profit, then that’s a very good deal for the American people,” Bessent continued. “There’s a lot we could have been doing for the American farmers, but Democrats closed the government.”
He clarified that the arrangement with Argentina was a $20 billion credit line and that the U.S. has already made a profit on the swap line, which involved exchanging U.S. dollars for pesos.
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Trump’s ‘chainsaw’ ally wins key election in South America
Since taking office in December 2023, Argentina’s self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist” President Javier Milei has successfully taken a “chainsaw” to his leftist predecessors’ ruinous policies and rescued his nation from an economic death spiral.
Despite delivering significant results, the fate of the Argentine president’s libertarian agenda and his nation’s continued support from the U.S. were conditional on the success of Milei’s Freedom Advances party in Sunday’s midterm elections.
Fortunately for Milei and his anti-left alliance with the United States, the Freedom Advances party prevailed over its leftist rivals in almost every district in the country, securing nearly 41% of the national vote — far and above the result reportedly expected by the Milei government.
Milei’s party picked up 64 seats in the lower house of the Argentine National Congress and 12 seats in the Senate. The ruling party exceeded the threshold necessary to sustain Milei’s presidential vetoes.
President Donald Trump congratulated Milei “on his Landslide Victory” early Monday morning, noting, “Our confidence in him was justified by the People of Argentina.”
“He’s making us all look good. Congratulations Javier!” added Trump.
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Photo by Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images
“The [Argentine] president is fighting 100 years of bad economic history and policy,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at an Oct. 14 Cabinet meeting where Milei was present. “There’s a midterm election coming up. We think he’s going to do quite well and then continue his reform agenda.”
Bessent indicated that whereas the Obama administration “wasted” an opportunity to support Latin American governments when they moved center-right politically, the Trump administration is forming economic bridges with like-minded nations that “want to do the right thing.”
‘The entire country confirmed its will to irreversibly change the destiny of our homeland.’
In the case of Argentina, whose stability Bessent indicated was “in the strategic interest of the United States,” American support recently came in the form of a $20 billion currency swap — a lifeline bypassing the International Monetary Fund that is aimed at economically stabilizing the country — and the possibility of $20 billion more in private credit.
Trump underscored the importance of the election and noted that if Milei and his party didn’t win, the U.S. would “not be generous with Argentina.”
“Our approvals are somewhat subject to who wins the election because if a socialist or — in the case of New York City — a communist wins, you feel a lot differently about making an investment,” said Trump, suggesting further that the U.S. wouldn’t waste money supporting a government kneecapped by or captive to a leftist philosophy.
Milei noted in his victory speech that when the new lawmakers take their congressional seats in December, Argentina “will have the most reformist Congress in Argentina,” and his party will work to make Argentina “the most free country in the world,” reported the Buenos Aires Herald.
“Today, the entire country confirmed its will to irreversibly change the destiny of our homeland,” added Milei.
Florida Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R) stated on Sunday, “Milei is the moral reference for the hemisphere, the exact opposite of Maduro. He’s proving that freedom, capitalism, and democracy still work. President Trump recognizes that, and together we can help Latin America prosper with those same values.”
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