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javier milei
Boosted by Trump Extortion Threat Over US Bailout Funds, Milei Nabs Win in Argentina Midterms
"He was a big victor, and he had a lot of help from us," the president boasted.
Oct 27, 2025
President Donald Trump on Monday took credit after his political ally, Argentine President Javier Milei, scored a major victory in his country's midterm elections following Trump's decision to bail out the South American country's struggling economy.
According to BBC, Milei's La Libertad Avanza party on Sunday won 41% of the vote, helping it secure more than half of contested Senate seats and just under half of contested lower-house seats.
While speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump boasted of his administration's efforts to help Milei secure a victory that will help him push through his radical right-wing austerity agenda that had previously been kept in check by opposition parties, which had overturned his vetos on laws that aimed to increase funding for state universities, people with disabilities, and children's healthcare.
"He was a big victor, and he had a lot of help from us," Trump said, referring to Milei. "He had a lot of help. I gave him an endorsement, a very strong endorsement."
Trump: "In Argentina, I want to congratulate the victor. And he had a lot of help from us." pic.twitter.com/vG3pamNuEe
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 27, 2025
The Trump administration last month initiated a $20 billion bailout for Argentina intended to stabilize the country’s currency, which has seen its value plummet to dangerous lows over the last several months. In addition, Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have orchestrated another $20 billion bailout with private funds to support the nation’s beleaguered economy.
The bailouts have come as Trump has refused to use emergency funds to ensure that Americans who rely on food assistance can feed their families next month, as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is set to go unfunded due to the US government shutdown.
Trump emphasized that the bailout was entirely contingent on Milei's political success in the midterm elections, and that it would be rescinded if his party fared poorly.
"If he loses, we're not going to be generous with Argentina," Trump said earlier this month.
“If he loses, we will not be generous with Argentina.”
- Trump warns Argentina’s voters that U.S. financial backing, now at $20b and potentially rising to $40b, depends on Milei’s party’s performance in the upcoming midterm elections @atrupar pic.twitter.com/zpuiFuuYWi
— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) October 16, 2025
Milei's political future appeared much more tenuous just one month ago, when his party lost Buenos Aires provincial elections in what some political observers believed were an ill omen for this month's midterms. Milei had also been rocked corruption scandals, including an alleged bribery scheme involving his sister, Karina Milei.
Matt Stoller, researcher at the American Economic Liberties Project, directly linked Trump's coercion campaign to Milei's political success.
"It turns out that Argentine voters would prefer Trump give them dollars for free than have another financial crisis," he wrote on X. "Six weeks ago, Milei lost Buenos Aires by 14%. Today he won it. I wonder what changed."
Stoller rejected a Wall Street Journal analysis claiming Argentinian voters, who are struggling with high unemployment numbers and surging prices on essentials, embraced "a free-market revolution" by voting for Milei.
"The reason for a massive swing to Milei in six weeks was Trump's offer of free dollars vs. the prospect of economic collapse," he said. "Nothing to do with free markets. A blatant lie."
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Sanders Rips Trump for Finding '$40 Billion to Bail Out Argentina' While Cutting Off Food Aid in US
"How cruel is that?" asked US Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Oct 27, 2025
US Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday condemned President Donald Trump for pursuing a $40 billion bailout of Argentina while unlawfully declining to use contingency reserves to pay out federal food aid to Americans during the ongoing government shutdown.
"During the shutdown, Trump could find $40 billion to bail out Argentina and $300 million for a ballroom to host dinner parties with billionaires, but he won't tap emergency funds to prevent millions of American kids from going hungry?" Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote on social media. "How cruel is that?"
Sanders' message came as Argentine voters headed to the polls in national midterm elections that delivered a major victory to far-right President Javier Milei, whose party won roughly 40% of the vote against around 32% for the opposition party.
The result is expected to insulate Milei, a close ally of Trump, from legislative veto overrides and enable him to continue pursuing economic shock therapy, which has so far included sweeping attacks on pensioners, public health, and more.
The election win is also expected to secure Trump's continued support for a $40 billion bailout package—a combination of private-sector financing and a $20 billion currency swap—for Argentina, the International Monetary Fund's largest debtor. Ahead of Sunday's elections, Trump indicated that he would have pulled support for the bailout if Milei's party had performed badly.
"If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina," Trump said of Milei. "If he wins, we're staying with him. If he doesn't, we're gone."
Rohit Chopra, former director of the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said in a statement Sunday that the Trump administration's bailout package for Argentina "was explicitly designed to influence the outcome of today's election" and urged Congress to act—which is unlikely, given Republican control.
"Congress should take a vote and block further bailout funds from flowing to Argentina," said Chopra. "The Trump administration should focus on reducing the cost of living for Americans, rather than pouring billions into Argentina."
"This is perhaps the most cruel and unlawful offense the Trump administration has perpetrated yet."
The Argentine election was held days after the Trump administration announced it would not use emergency funds to continue paying out Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits next month, imperiling food aid for more than 40 million Americans.
SNAP costs the federal government approximately $8 billion per month, a fraction of the $40 billion that the Trump administration has committed to Argentina.
Sharon Parrott, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, noted that the Trump administration is flouting the law by refusing to tap the emergency funds for nutrition assistance.
"The administration itself admits these reserves are available for use," said Parrott. "It could have, and should have, taken steps weeks ago to be ready to use these funds. Instead, it may choose not to use them in an effort to gain political advantage."
US Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said in a statement that "this is perhaps the most cruel and unlawful offense the Trump administration has perpetrated yet—freezing funding already enacted into law to feed hungry Americans while he shovels tens of billions of dollars out the door to Argentina and into his ballroom."
"The president, his agriculture secretary, and his budget director need to stop playing politics with Americans struggling to afford food and release the SNAP funds that Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate overwhelmingly voted to provide," they added.
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Creators of Melania Trump Meme Coin Accused of Fraud as Value Has Tanked By 95%
Investors trusted that no one of the first lady's stature "would knowingly associate with a fraudulent venture,” alleges a lawsuit.
Oct 22, 2025
The creators of the official meme coin of First Lady Melania Trump are being accused of engaging in a sophisticated fraud scheme in a lawsuit filed by cryptocurrency investors.
As reported by Wired on Tuesday, the allegations against the creators of the Melania coin came as part of a proposed amended complaint that had been filed by investors earlier this year against Benjamin Chow, cofounder of crypto exchange Meteora, and Hayden Davis, cofounder of crypto venture capital firm Kelsier Labs.
According to the proposed complaint, Chow and Davis conspired to run pump-and-dump schemes on over a dozen meme coins they launched, including the Melania coin.
Pump-and-dump schemes involve asset owners who knowingly use false information to hype up the value of their assets before selling them off en masse just before their prices crash.
The plaintiffs claim that the alleged scammers have developed a "repeatable six-step ‘playbook’ for pump-and-dump fraud" that had already been used before it was employed on behalf of the first lady's coin, and that inflicted millions of dollars in losses on investors.
The complaint does not name the first lady as a conspirator, but says that she was merely used as "window dressing for a crime engineered" by Chow and Davis.
Despite President Donald Trump's history of financial fraud, which he was found guilty of in New York in 2024, the complaint states that "investors reasonably interpreted the use of Melania Trump’s name and likeness as evidence of legitimacy and due diligence—trusting that no one of her stature would knowingly associate with a fraudulent venture."
Chow and Davis were also responsible to launching the cryptocurrency promoted by Argentine President Javier Milei earlier this year that collapsed in value shortly after its launch.
Max Burwick, an attorney whose law firm Burwick Law is representing the plaintiffs, told Wired that the case "could clarify basic expectations for token launches and disclosures in the US" if it is successful.
According to cryptocurrency news website 99Bitcoins, the Melania meme coin has lost more than 95% of its peak value since its launch in February, and is now trading at under 10 cents per unit.
While Melania Trump was not directly involved in the creation of the now nearly-worthless meme coin, the Trump family was accused last month of the "greatest corruption in presidential history" when it was reported they had added $5 billion in cash to their fortunes when President Donald Trump's cryptocurrency was opened to the public market.
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