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{"id":25709,"date":"2026-07-11T23:47:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T23:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/the-trump-ally-looking-for-a-messi-miracle\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T23:47:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T23:47:14","slug":"the-trump-ally-looking-for-a-messi-miracle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/the-trump-ally-looking-for-a-messi-miracle\/","title":{"rendered":"The Trump ally looking for a Messi miracle"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>When Argentina defeated Egypt with a last-minute miracle \u2014 making it the western hemisphere\u2019s lone survivor into the quarterfinals \u2014 the country\u2019s libertarian president Javier Milei <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reels\/DagN11vkh9H\/\" target=\"_blank\">said he was &#8220;crazy with joy<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As his Argentina faces off today against Switzerland, Milei \u2014 arguably U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s most Trumpian ally in the Western hemisphere, if not worldwide \u2014 could use some good news.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMilei worked miracles bringing down inflation and corralling public spending. But that came at a significant social cost, and he has been far less successful in attracting investment and creating jobs,\u201d said Benjamin Gedan, a former U.S. State and Treasury Department official who now heads the Stimson Center\u2019s Latin America program in Washington. \u201cThe president is ubiquitous, endlessly picking fights and exhausting even many onetime supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Both in his brash style and brash politics, the chainsaw-brandishing Milei is Trump\u2019s kindred spirit. Before there was DOGE, Milei slashed tens of thousands of public sector jobs to combat what he claimed was administrative bloat.<\/p>\n<p>On other issues, he has followed Washington&#8217;s lead. After the United States withdrew from the World Health Organization, Argentina followed suit. Milei has also threatened to leave the Paris Agreement, shunned BRICS and sidelined Mercosur in favor of deeper alignment with the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>In return, Trump last October rewarded Milei, whom he dubbed \u201cmy favorite president,\u201d with a crucial $20 billion economic lifeline. An internal Pentagon email <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/pentagon-email-floats-suspending-spain-nato-other-steps-over-iran-rift-source-2026-04-24\/\" target=\"_blank\">cited by Reuters<\/a> suggested the U.S. also considered supporting Argentina\u2019s claim on the Falkland Islands in revenge for Britain\u2019s stance in the U.S. war against Iran.<\/p>\n<p>But none of it has been enough to save Milei from his political troubles at home. His administration has been hit by several corruption scandals, including his own suspected links to a failed digital coin and the forced resignation of his cabinet chief earlier this month over allegations of misappropriating public funds. Combined with rising inflation, it has made Milei an unpopular figure at home ahead of an election next year.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Opinargentina\/status\/2074944464812941397\" target=\"_blank\">survey by Opina Argentina this week<\/a> found that 58 percent of respondents hold a negative view of the president, placing him behind his main political rivals.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, Milei has not attended any of his country\u2019s matches, despite having <a href=\"https:\/\/english.elpais.com\/international\/2026-07-09\/milei-seeks-a-us-style-government-shutdown.html\" target=\"_blank\">previously traveled to the U.S. 17 times<\/a> since his election in 2023. He might be trying to steer clear of the Argentina football federation (AFA) and its president, Claudio Fabi\u00e1n \u201cChiqui\u201d Tapia, who, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lanacion.com.ar\/politica\/agentes-del-fbi-y-fiscales-federales-toman-testimonios-para-investigar-operaciones-financieras-de-la-nid06072026\/#google_vignette\" target=\"_blank\">according to Argentine newspaper La Naci\u00f3n<\/a>, is being investigated by the FBI for possible money laundering.<\/p>\n<p>Milei also skipped Trump\u2019s big July 4 bash in Washington, opting instead for a more low-key celebration at the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires, causing some Argentinian commentators to speculate about a possible chill in bilateral relations.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, however, Secretary of State Marco Rubio put those rumors to rest, <a href=\"https:\/\/ar.usembassy.gov\/statement-by-secretary-marco-rubio\/\" target=\"_blank\">congratulating Argentina on its 210th Independence Day in a statement<\/a> that praised Milei as \u201can indispensable partner\u201d in the two countries\u2019 joint fight against \u201cnarcoterrorism, transnational crime, and authoritarian regimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The two countries have another thing in common: Messi, the 39-year-old Argentine playmaker who is one of the World Cup\u2019s top scorers and also plays for Inter Miami. Both Trump and Milei have sought, in their own ways, to bask in his glow.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You could have gone anywhere in the world, any team in the world, and you chose Miami,&#8221; Trump told Messi during a White House visit in March. The meeting <a href=\"https:\/\/buenosairesherald.com\/sports\/messi-joins-trump-for-white-house-visit-sparking-criticism-and-controversy\" target=\"_blank\">prompted criticism from some in Argentina<\/a> who accused the soccer legend of lending legitimacy to Trump\u2019s politics by appearing alongside him.<\/p>\n<p>Milei, in turn, seized on that criticism to attack the media and his political opponents and align himself with the football star, declaring: &#8220;If you mess with Messi, you mess with us all.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Messi, meanwhile, has steered clear of politics. A far less polarizing figure than either president, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/1051384580\/Informe-Especial-Mundial-2026\" target=\"_blank\">Argentine survey conducted before the World Cup<\/a> put his approval rating over 90 percent. When Messi led Argentina to a World Cup trophy four years ago, however, it did not do much to boost the country\u2019s governing class. President Alberto Fern\u00e1ndez saw his Peronist coalition suffer a historic defeat in the following year\u2019s election. He was later charged with domestic abuse, and his former vice president is now serving house arrest after a corruption conviction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich is all to say,\u201d observed Gedan, \u201cMessi is a national hero, but Argentine politicians don&#8217;t get to share the glory.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Argentina defeated Egypt with a last-minute miracle \u2014 making it the western hemisphere\u2019s lone survivor into the quarterfinals \u2014 the country\u2019s libertarian president Javier Milei said he was &#8220;crazy with joy.\u201d As his Argentina faces off today against Switzerland, Milei \u2014 arguably U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s most Trumpian ally in the Western hemisphere, if [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25709\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}