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Milei’s Argentina shows Trump triumph without tariffs

Maverick 'Miracle': Argentine President Javier Milei, wearing a polo helmet decorated with the Argentine flag, greets supporters during the opening of an agricultural exposition in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 26, 2025.
Gustavo Garello
/
AP
Maverick 'Miracle': Argentine President Javier Milei, wearing a polo helmet decorated with the Argentine flag, greets supporters during the opening of an agricultural exposition in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 26, 2025.

OPINION: Donald Trump admires Argentine President Javier Milei — so why is Trump pushing tariffs and economic policies so divorced from the ‘Milei Miracle’?

WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett continues to grimace at Milei’s vulgar and reactionary demagoguery, but admits that “his economic orthodoxy crusade has brought welcome order to Argentina’s fiscal chaos” and shows Trump that populist bullies can triumph without tariffs.

On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, his online commentary series, Padgett asks, “Why is our president pursuing an economic strategy so divorced from what’s made his Argentine amigo so successful?”