Argentine President-elect Javier Milei is becoming a right-wing media darling in the U.S. due to his austere proposed economic policies and conservative ideology. Right-wing media figures have reacted to Milei’s electoral success by praising him, comparing him to former President Donald Trump, and attacking mainstream media for their critical reporting. 

• Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist libertarian,” has aggressively pushed conservative positions on issues such as abortion while also promising to gut government ministries relating to issues like education, diversity, and science. Milei also proposed holding a referendum aimed at overturning Argentina’s right to abortion. [Rolling Stone, 11/20/23]
• One of Milei’s defining political positions is “dollarisation,” a form of economic shock treatment, to combat Argentina’s rising inflation and ongoing financial woes. Dollarisation involves getting rid of the Argentine peso and replacing it with the U.S. dollar. Mark Weisbrot, the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, has labeled this as a “crazed, economically suicidal approach” which could majorly backfire for Argentine people. [The Guardian, 11/20/23]
• Milei’s mirroring of Trump’s right-wing populist messaging — down to “Make Argentina Great Again” hats and preemptive voter fraud conspiracy theories — has led to direct praise from the former president. After Milei’s victory, Trump personally congratulated him on Truth Social, posting, “The whole world was watching! I am very proud of you. You will turn your Country around and truly Make Argentina Great Again!" [The Guardian, 11/17/23; Rolling Stone, 11/20/23]
• Milei has also been linked to infamous anti-tax lobbyist Grover Norquist. In 2021, Milei promised the Argentine Taxpayers Association, sister organization to Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform, that he would “cut off [his] own arm” if he raised taxes. Norquist has also gotten many Republican politicians to make similar promises by getting them to sign his organization’s “Taxpayer Protection Pledge.” [The Nation, 7/21/2011; Semafor, 11/21/23; ABC News, 11/26/12]
• Mainstream media have responded to Milei’s election by pointing out his similarities to Trump and the implications his victory could have in neighboring countries. The New York Times referred to his election as “Argentina’s Donald Trump moment.” [The Washington Post, 11/19/23; The New York Times, 11/20/23]

• Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones called Milei “an anti-globalist through and through” and claimed he was an Infowars listener. Jones also praised Milei as “a follower” of former Fox host Tucker Carlson and argued his election was evidence that “people are seeing through the globalist lies at every front.” [Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, 11/20/23] 
• Newsmax host Rob Schmitt celebrated Milei, praising him for “fighting an ideology that is destroying the world one country at a time.” Schmitt argued Milei was “fighting the same disease that our nation is fighting” and “isn’t afraid to eviscerate the cancerous tumor that is the socialist politician.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 11/20/23]
• Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk claimed that Milei’s victory was a “stimulus of hope” for the chances of Trump winning the presidency in 2024. Kirk portrayed the election as evidence that “the Western world is starting to push back against forced globalism” supposedly orchestrated by “a smaller and smaller radical group of people.” Kirk argued, “If Javier Milei can win by 11 points … Donald Trump can win next November.” [Salem Media Group, The Charlie Kirk Show, 11/20/23]
• Fox News contributor Sara Carter posted that she “love[s] Javier Milei.” Carter posted in response to a video of Milei ripping tags off a whiteboard with the names of various governmental departments, including the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health. [Twitter/X, 11/20/23]
• Right-wing YouTuber Steven Crowder referred to Milei as “the madman geopolitics deserves.” He also called on Milei to “make Argentina great again.” [Twitter/X, 11/20/23]
• Fox Business host Charles Payne called Milei’s election “huge and super encouraging on several fronts.” Payne also alleged that “powerful global forces'' tried to prevent Milei’s victory from “happening.” [Twitter/X, 11/20/23] 
• Right-wing economist Art Laffer argued Milei was “not a kook” or “far-right winger” and bet he would make Argentina “the outstanding, pro-growth economy of Central and South America” as president. Fox host Larry Kudlow concurred, adding that “the socialism they’ve been flirting with almost all over the continent hasn’t worked. … This guy might turn that around.” [Fox Business, Kudlow, 11/20/23] 
• Right-wing X account End Wokeness complained that “Argentina hand-counted all of their ballots in a few hours, but the big blue areas in our swing states take several days with machines?” [Twitter/X, 11/20/23]
• Neo-Nazi collaborator Jack Posobiec claimed that the reason Argentina knew “the election result so fast” was because it “banned electronic voting machines.” Posobiec failed to mention that only Buenos Aires City residents were required to use paper ballots, and that was due to “significant delays” during the primary elections because of technical issues with the machines. [Twitter/X, 11/20/23; Buenos Aires Herald, 10/21/23]
• Right-wing political operative Roger Stone praised Argentina for voting “with 100% paper ballots unlike, say, Brazil.” [Twitter/X, 11/19/23]
• The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro bemoaned the “garbage press” for their coverage of Milei, calling them “international Leftist trash.” Shapiro also touted Milei’s economic policies, claiming Milei is planning to “slash spending and restore fiscal responsibility.” [Twitter/X, 11/20/23]
• Conservative blog Red State also decried the press “freak-out” over Milei, claiming mainstream media “love it when far-left socialists take power." The “fairly Libertarian” Milei, the author claimed, could not be compared to Trump, and “the press attempt to tie the two together” was therefore “transparent.” [Red State, 11/19/23]
• Stone also posted that it was “really enjoyable watching the elitist pukes at the Washington Post and the New York Times melt down over the election of pro-Freedom Anti-Globalist Javier Milei.” [Twitter/X, 11/20/23]