Milei, an Argentine politician, is a VIP guest at Mar-a-Lago as Trump and Musk embrace his criticism of government spending.

• President-elect Donald Trump received his first foreign visit from Javier Milei, an anarcho-capitalist President from Argentina.
• At a gala held at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, Milei was a VIP speaker and the event was attended by Elon Musk, Silvester Stallone, and other members of the MAGA elite.
• Since his election, Milei has successfully cut $2 trillion from the U.S. federal budget, which is very close to what Musk claims he can achieve.

President-elect Donald Trump welcomed the first foreign leader to visit him since his re-election, Javier Milei, an anarcho-capitalist President of Argentina, to a gala dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Thursday. Milei was a VIP speaker at the event.

Milei stated that the world is a much better place and the winds of freedom are blowing much stronger since Trump's election.

Trump's Nov. 5 victory was hailed as "The greatest political comeback in all of history," despite the political establishment's efforts to undermine him, even at the cost of his own life.

Milei acknowledged another attendee in the gala crowd, specifically SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

Milei, through an interpreter, expressed gratitude to Elon Musk for his outstanding efforts in safeguarding humanity.

Milei's visit to Florida on Thursday and his positive comments about Trump and Musk provide insight into the developing relationship between the two American billionaires and the leader who aims to revive Argentina's struggling economy through drastic spending cuts and deregulation.

Milei has visited the Tesla factory and taken pictures with Musk, whom he admires greatly.

In September, Milei posted a photo of Musk wearing a "dark MAGA" hat with Trump's campaign logo written in black on black.

The gala photos on social media depicted Musk, Milei, and Trump smiling together.

Trump's closest advisor, Musk, has been at Mar-a-Lago for the past week, helping the president-elect fill his Cabinet with unconventional choices who have pledged to bring their own brand of shock therapy to the federal agencies they will lead.

The "Department of Government Efficiency," led by Musk and Ramaswamy, will be established by Trump to drastically reduce the federal budget.

The DOGE will not be a federal agency, but will instead serve as an outside advisory panel to the White House Office of Management and Budget, fulfilling Trump's campaign promise to give Musk a major role advising his administration on government spending.

The only place where cuts on this scale have been implemented in recent years is in Argentina, under Milei.

"Government spending leads to inflation or direct taxation. The Department of Government Efficiency will address this issue," Musk stated at Trump's rally last month.

To comprehend the source of Musk's plan to cut the federal budget by a third, examine Milei's achievements.

According to the Center for Argentine Political Economy (CEPA), Milei has reduced federal spending in Argentina by 32% since assuming office in December.

Despite annual inflation rates exceeding 300% and causing instability in the country, Argentina recorded its lowest inflation rate since 2017 in October, at 2.7%.

Milei's main goal is to reduce federal spending, and Musk has sought guidance from Argentina's leadership on how to achieve this.

"Milei stated at a META Day Argentina conference on Tuesday in Buenos Aires that the U.S. has observed and is mimicking our example. Musk is conversing with Minister of Deregulation Federico Sturzenegger regarding how to deregulate the U.S. economy."

In Argentina, Milei streamlined the government by eliminating 13 ministries, resulting in nine. Over 30,000 public sector employees were let go. He put a halt to all infrastructure projects.

The severe reductions have resulted in severe repercussions, plunging Argentina's economy into a profound depression. Argentina's GDP dropped by over 5% in the first quarter of 2024.

The World Bank predicts that by the end of the year, the overall contraction will be roughly 3.5%, and that Argentina's GDP will grow 5% in 2025.

It is likely that cuts of this magnitude would be more difficult to execute in the United States than in Argentina due to the larger size of the U.S. national budget, which is approximately $4.7 trillion, compared to Argentina's budget of $101 billion.

It is unclear whether American voters have granted Trump the authority to reduce spending, as Argentine voters did their president.

Milei frequently carried a chainsaw around with him on the campaign trail as a symbol of his determination to reduce the federal budget.

Last year, Milei won his election by 10 points, indicating that a substantial portion of voters supported his plan.

Trump's campaign focused on securing the border and improving the economy through tax cuts and tariffs, with little emphasis on fiscal restraint.

This reality has not gone unnoticed by the markets.

The election of Trump has led to an increase in long-term U.S. interest rates, indicating a potential resurgence of the "bond vigilantes."

Since 1983, the term "bond vigilantes" has been used by Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research to describe the belief that if fiscal and monetary authorities fail to manage their spending, the bond market will take control by imposing significantly higher borrowing costs.