In a recent speech in Buenos Aires, I compared the two presidents.
If you don’t want to spend nine minutes on a video, I pointed out that Milei and Trump have some important similarities – especially combative personalities.
Both of them are also active on social media and anti-woke. And, with regards to policy, both of them favor deregulation and lower taxes.
But, speaking of policy, there are also major differences.
Indeed, the difference between the two presidents on economic policy is so profound that I actually wrote back in 2018 that Trump was somewhat like Juan Perón, the infamously bad post-World War II president who did so much to ruin Argentina.
Which helps to explain this meme.
In a column for the Foundation for Economic Education, Marcos Falcone points out that there are big differences between Trump and Milei.
Here are some excerpts.
Before Trump and Milei were elected, both the US and Argentina were running extensive deficits, and both leaders vowed to address the problem. On the one hand, Milei made good on his promise in just one month and balanced Argentina’s budget for the first time in over a decade. Now, 18 months into his presidency, the Argentinian government is spending less than it takes from taxpayers. By contrast, the US is not only still facing a fiscal crisis, but Trump’s administration refuses to cut spending. …Yet another area of comparison between the US and Argentina, and perhaps the most important one for its global ramifications, is trade policy. President Trump’s aggressive protectionist policies have brought the world closer to recession. …Conversely, the Milei administration has gradually begun to lift tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers in Argentina, causing prices of imported goods to fall. …the root of these results is ideological. All this could have been predicted: Trump could never lead a libertarian administration because he is not a libertarian. As for Milei, a self-described anarcho-capitalist, there is hardly any question that his final goal is dismantling the state, despite his occasional pragmatism. A shared goal of resisting “the left” is not enough to bring together opposing traditions of economic thought like Trump’s mercantilism and Milei’s free market economics, let alone their opposing political visions.
Falcone doesn’t directly compare Trump to Peron, but @HannahDCox made the connection.
And @BriciusX highlighted big differences between Milei and Trump.
Heck, the huge ideological gulf between Milei and Trump was apparent – at least to some people – even before Milei got elected.
Let’s close with some passages from Steven Greenhut’s article in Reason.
Aside from his norm-breaking appeal, Milei’s approach is far different than Trump’s. Milei vowed free-market reforms to overturn decades of populist Perónism—a statist ideology that infected Argentina’s politics since Juan Domingo Perón won the presidency in 1946. …By contrast, Trump is overturning America’s historical embrace of free markets and free trade. He sets himself up as an all-powerful charismatic leader, inserts the feds deeply into the economy… Perónism is more avowedly leftist than Trumpism, but MAGA’s “right-wing” policies sometimes seem indistinguishable from left-wing ones. …Milei is opening Argentina’s economy, whereas Trump is closing ours and centering power in his pen, as he dispenses restrictions and favors. Milei is making his economy predictable, while Trump is basing ours on his whims. …Overall, Milei is using his power to loosen the government’s grip, whereas Trump—although he occasionally reduces regulations—is centralizing government power. The two men have bad hair and unpredictable temperaments, but beyond that the similarities dissipate quickly.
The bottom line is that Trump and Milei may be buddies, but Trump’s policies are closer to Perónism rather than libertarianism.
P.S. There is one more noteworthy difference between Milei and Trump. Trump increased the size and scope of government and suffered a humiliating defeat in this week’s mid-term elections. Milei has been slashing government in Argentina and his libertarian party enjoyed a massive landslide victory in Argentina’s 2025 mid-term elections. Makes you wonder whether my 4th Theorem is actually insightful.
