When Argentina defeated Egypt with a last-minute miracle — making it the western hemisphere’s lone survivor into the quarterfinals — the country’s libertarian president Javier Milei said he was „crazy with joy.”

As his Argentina faces off today against Switzerland, Milei — arguably U.S. President Donald Trump’s most Trumpian ally in the Western hemisphere, if not worldwide — could use some good news.

“Milei 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,” said Benjamin Gedan, a former U.S. State and Treasury Department official who now heads the Stimson Center’s Latin America program in Washington. “The president is ubiquitous, endlessly picking fights and exhausting even many onetime supporters.”

Both in his brash style and brash politics, the chainsaw-brandishing Milei is Trump’s kindred spirit. Before there was DOGE, Milei slashed tens of thousands of public sector jobs to combat what he claimed was administrative bloat.

On other issues, he has followed Washington’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.

In return, Trump last October rewarded Milei, whom he dubbed “my favorite president,” with a crucial $20 billion economic lifeline. An internal Pentagon email cited by Reuters suggested the U.S. also considered supporting Argentina’s claim on the Falkland Islands in revenge for Britain’s stance in the U.S. war against Iran.

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.

A survey by Opina Argentina this week found that 58 percent of respondents hold a negative view of the president, placing him behind his main political rivals.

Notably, Milei has not attended any of his country’s matches, despite having previously traveled to the U.S. 17 times since his election in 2023. He might be trying to steer clear of the Argentina football federation (AFA) and its president, Claudio Fabián “Chiqui” Tapia, who, according to Argentine newspaper La Nación, is being investigated by the FBI for possible money laundering.

Milei also skipped Trump’s 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.

On Thursday, however, Secretary of State Marco Rubio put those rumors to rest, congratulating Argentina on its 210th Independence Day in a statement that praised Milei as “an indispensable partner” in the two countries’ joint fight against “narcoterrorism, transnational crime, and authoritarian regimes.”

The two countries have another thing in common: Messi, the 39-year-old Argentine playmaker who is one of the World Cup’s top scorers and also plays for Inter Miami. Both Trump and Milei have sought, in their own ways, to bask in his glow.

„You could have gone anywhere in the world, any team in the world, and you chose Miami,” Trump told Messi during a White House visit in March. The meeting prompted criticism from some in Argentina who accused the soccer legend of lending legitimacy to Trump’s politics by appearing alongside him.

Milei, in turn, seized on that criticism to attack the media and his political opponents and align himself with the football star, declaring: „If you mess with Messi, you mess with us all.”

Messi, meanwhile, has steered clear of politics. A far less polarizing figure than either president, an Argentine survey conducted before the World Cup 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’s governing class. President Alberto Fernández saw his Peronist coalition suffer a historic defeat in the following year’s election. He was later charged with domestic abuse, and his former vice president is now serving house arrest after a corruption conviction.

“Which is all to say,” observed Gedan, “Messi is a national hero, but Argentine politicians don’t get to share the glory.”

Forrás