Donald Trump met on Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago club with Argentina’s President Javier Milei, the first foreign leader to meet with the president-elect since his victory in last week’s election.
The meeting was confirmed by a person who insisted on anonymity to discuss a meeting that had not yet been announced publicly.
The person said the meeting went well and Mr Milei also met with investors.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei (AP/Alex Brandon)
After meeting with Mr Trump, Mr Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist” and frequent recipient of Mr Trump’s praise, addressed the America First Policy Institute gala at Mar-a-Lago.
He spoke briefly in English, then gave a longer speech in Spanish, pausing to allow an interpreter to translate, in which he slammed left-wing ideologies and saluted Elon Musk, the owner of X, saying his social media site is helping to “save humanity”.
Shortly after Mr Milei’s election in November 2023, Mr Trump posted on social media: “You will turn your country around and truly Make Argentina Great Again!”
Mr Milei first met Mr Trump in February at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, in the Washington area.
He has openly declared his admiration for the US president-elect and when he saw him, he rushed to him screaming “president!” and gave him a close hug before they posed for pictures.
The Argentine president is known for his eccentric personality and first made a name for himself by shouting against Argentina’s “political caste” on television.
The right-wing populist campaigned with a chainsaw as his prop to symbolise his plans to slash public spending and scrap government ministries.