What did Donald Trump do today?
He threatened to punish Argentinian voters if they didn't re-elect the guy he just gave a $20B bailout to.
Last month, Trump ordered a massive bailout of the Argentinian economy in the form of a $20 billion currency swap. Argentina's president, Javier Milei, was the first foreign leader to visit Trump after his re-election, and conducted a charm offensive that has now paid off enormously well, even as Trump pleads poverty where Americans' needs are concerned.
Of course, large economies like the United States offer economic assistance to more vulnerable ones like Argentina all the time—but only if it doesn't work against their interests. In this case, Argentina immediately repaid Trump's largesse by striking a deal with China to sell them soybeans, a crop that has been devastated in the United States after China simply stopped buying them due to Trump's tariffs.
Worse, it's clear that Trump's staff knew this would happen. Last month, a photographer captured an image of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's phone as he read a text apparently from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
It read:
Just a heads up. I am getting more intel, but this is highly unfortunate. We bailed out Argentina yesterday and in return, the Argentine’s removed their export tariffs on grains, reducing their price to China at a time when we would normally be selling to China. Soy prices are dropping further because of it. This gives China more leverage on us.
In other words, Trump's tariffs are bankrupting American farms, and Trump's foreign bailouts are making it worse.
Farmers in the United States noticed and are not happy, which may explain Trump's oddly defensive behavior today during a visit by Milei to the White House. (Milei continued to dazzle Trump with flattery today, presenting him with a gilt-framed "nomination" for the Nobel Peace Prize Trump didn't win.) Trump endorsed him in the upcoming election, declaring without evidence that "people in Argentina like me," and then immediately threatened Argentinians with economic reprisals if they failed to re-elect Milei. Asked about China's successful gambit and its effect on American farmers, he shrugged it off, saying it didn't matter.
And, as though eager to beat comedians to the punch, Trump promised that he'd punish American voters for electing the "wrong" leaders, too.
Why does this matter?
- Presidents are supposed to act in the best interests of the United States, not the best interests of foreign leaders they like.
- It shouldn't be this easy to manipulate and take advantage of a president.