Why Trump is backing 'Argentina's Thatcher'

"We're backing him 100%. We think he's done a fantastic job. Like us, he inherited a mess.” Donald Trump gave his enthusiastic endorsement to Javier Milei's radical economic experiment when the pair met in New York last week.

- Heather Stewart

The US has declared itself ready to offer more than rhetorical support to the chainsaw-wielding Argentinian president in the coming days, as Buenos Aires stands on the brink of a fresh financial crisis.

The US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said the US was “ready to do what is needed”. He suggested the Federal Reserve could offer Buenos Aires a $20bn (£15bn) swap line - a crucial crisis-fighting tool - or the US could even buy the country’s bonds directly.

US administrations have rallied support for Argentinian governments in the past - Bill Clinton was a fan of Carlos Menem’s 1990s reforms, for example. But Trump’s readiness to wade in directly is the latest example of his determination to use economic tools for political ends: in this case, propping up an ideological ally.

Milei swept into power two years ago on a wave of frustration and discontent with the economic status quo.

Like Trump and Boris Johnson, he eschewed the usual conventions of politics and promised to smash up the establishment and remake the state on behalf of the people.