The U.S. bailout of Argentina's failing economy doubled on Wednesday, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying that American taxpayers are now giving roughly $40 billion in aid, all while the federal government slashes funding for programs in the United States.
"We've actually been working on it for weeks," Bessent told reporters.
The massive bailout is a nakedly transparent effort to help Argentina’s right-wing President Javier Milei, who faces a critical election on Oct. 26 amid his country’s economic crisis.
President Donald Trump said at the White House on Tuesday that he will only help Argentina if Milei’s party wins the election—yet another impeachable offense as he seeks to influence a foreign election with the power of the presidency.
"I'm with this man because his philosophy is correct, and he may win it," Trump said. "He may not win, but I think he's going to win. And if he wins, we're staying with him. And if he doesn't win, we're gone."
Trump’s bailout of Argentina will help his rich friends—but for the average American, health insurance, special education, and food stamps are all on the chopping block. How very “America First” of him.
And Democrats hammered that point home on Wednesday.
"For the cost of the Argentina bailout we could cover the ACA tax credits for a year," Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii wrote on X.
If those Affordable Care Act subsidies expire, millions of Americans would see their health insurance premiums more than double, with many being forced off of their coverage altogether—a sentiment that Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona drove home.
“Trump is DOUBLING his bailout for Argentina. Meanwhile your health care premiums are about to DOUBLE,” Gallego wrote on X. “$40 BILLION to help Trump’s elite friends. $0 to lower costs for American families.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont also pointed out the hypocrisy of the supposed “America First” president.
"If you're the Qatari royal family worth $335 billion, Trump gives you an Air Force facility in Idaho. If you're the President of Argentina, Trump gives you a $20 billion bailout. If you're an American whose health care premiums are about to double? Tough luck," Sanders wrote on X.
Even farmers—who backed Trump’s 2024 campaign—are aghast at the bailout, as Argentina has been hurting the U.S. soybean industry by sourcing from China.
“Bailing out Argentina doesn't help my market,” Scott Brown, an Arkansas soybean farmer, told MSNBC. “I buy parts and I buy groceries and I'm paying the tariffs exactly like everybody else is. Sending me that money doesn't fix my problem. All they want to do is throw money at problems instead of actually sit down and try to fix one.”
But true to form, Republicans are already defending Trump's massive bailout.
"I think America First is not isolationism," GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said. "America First is trying to have alliances that America benefits from and helping people that behave in a way that is helpful to our interest. People think America First is America alone. It's not.”
Of course, if that were the case, the Trump administration would not have unilaterally decided to axe the U.S. Agency for International Development, which provided funding to prevent starvation and the spread of diseases in foreign countries.
“Apparently $20B of our taxpayer money wasn't enough to bail out Argentina. Now Trump wants U.S. banks to divert ANOTHER $20B away from lending to American businesses, farmers, and families to prop up Milei's corrupt presidency and failing economy,” Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wrote on X. “So much for America First.”
Trump’s “America First” philosophy has really always been “Trump First,” as he proves over and over again that he will always put his own interests before the country’s.
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