Javier Milei, the exalted right-wing populist president of Argentina, gave Donald Trump an effusive hug this Saturday a day following meeting with officials from President Joe Biden’s government in Buenos Aires. Trump and Milei were the keynote speakers to close the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) outside Washington. In his backstage greeting, captured on video posted by a member of Trump’s campaign team, Milei yelled “President!” and pulled Trump into a hug before being photographed together.
Milei took office in December following launching a campaign inspired by Trump, wearing caps that read “Make Argentina Great Again,” in a nod to the former president’s “Make America Great Again” movement. United States once more). He was the latest of several foreign politicians at CPAC to embrace Trump’s popular themes on issues such as immigration and the perceived threat of socialism.
In the video, Trump tells Milei in English, “Let’s make Argentina great once more,” and Milei then shouts his famous phrase in Spanish, “Long live freedom, damn!”, according to the AP.
The Argentine president’s presentation at CPAC occurred a day following meeting with Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. A senior Milei official claimed that Marc Stanley, the US ambassador in Buenos Aires, suggested that Milei should not speak at CPAC.
Milei’s security minister, Patricia Bullrich, who also attended the meeting in southern Washington, said Stanley told Milei’s office that, in his opinion, the conference was “very political” and that it was not appropriate. for him to participate. Bullrich clarified that Milei would offer a general speech and would not talk regarding the elections.
Milei urged CPAC attendees to stop socialism and not support further regulation of the economy. She also called abortion access “a killer agenda” to reduce population size. “Don’t be carried away by the siren song of social justice,” she said in Spanish. “Do not give up your freedom. Fight for your freedom. If they do not fight for freedom, they will be driven to misery,” Efe reports.
Trump then introduced himself as a “proud political dissident.” “Today I stand before you not only as your past and, hopefully, future president, but also as a proud political dissident. “I am a dissident,” the former Republican president said without hesitation.
Since the death a week ago of the Russian political dissident Alexei Navalny in the prison where he was being held – a death for which the US Government blames Vladimir Putin – Trump has dedicated himself to comparing himself to him.
While Navalny was serving time for his criticism of Putin, Trump is charged with 91 charges and will have to face four civil trials for crimes such as bribery, attempting to invalidate an election or illegally retaining classified documents.
Figures from the national and international extreme right have participated in the Conservative Political Action Conference. Among them have been the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele; Argentine President Milei; the president of the Spanish far-right party Vox, Santiago Abascal or the son of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, Eduardo Bolsonaro.
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