President Donald Trump will meet with his "favorite president," a rising star in the international conservative movement who once gifted Elon Musk a chainsaw: Argentina's Javier Milei, a self-described radical libertarian, who has made a name for himself with his slash spending mantra, an unusual hairstyle, and a claim that he seeks political advice from his dogs.

Trump hosts Milei just days after the White House agreed to proceed with a $20 billion bailout of Argentina.

The meeting also comes ahead of midterm elections in the Latin American nation later this month when voters will deliver their verdict on Milei's cost-cutting, deregulatory and free-market-reform agenda. That agenda has led to a volatile peso currency and seen investors aggressively dump Argentine stocks and bonds.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that the United States economic lifeline for Milei's country will take the form of a currency swap with Argentina's central bank. That's a move that amounts to effectively exchanging stable U.S. dollars with volatile pesos. However, further details about the bailout remain unclear.

Milei is a trained economist who believes that institutions of state ultimately hamper many forms of freedom and that true financial success can only be achieved through private markets and stateless societies. He was one of only a few world leaders who attended Trump's inauguration, highlighting their apparent close bond.

"You are my favorite president. The end," Trump said in a call to Milei when he was U.S.-president elect.

Milei has since continued to be one of Trump's closest international allies, apparently seeing eye to eye with him on a range of issues from state spending cuts to attacks on "woke leftists."

However, the decision to give Argentina a bailout has angered some American farmers who have expressed concern that Trump's tariffs on China have caused Beijing to shift purchases of soybeans to countries such as Argentina.

"Why would USA help bail out Argentina while they take American soybean producers' biggest market???" Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a key soybean producer, wrote on social media last month.

Milei is known for his unkempt sideburns, demonic facial expressions and commitment to "anarcho-capitalism." For these reasons, and others, his domestic critics have longed dubbed him "El Loco" (the madman).

When running for office, Milei said he was ready to attack the system with a chainsaw. This is something he symbolically proved on the campaign trail by repeatedly brandishing one in front of supporters.

He also claimed he was considering "blowing up" Argentina's central bank by ditching the local peso currency in favor of the U.S. dollar. That's something he appears to have backed away from.

Milei's 'children'

In various interviews, Milei has said he receives his best advice from Murray, Milton, Robert and Lucas. Murray, Milton, Robert and Lucas are four mastiffs − his dogs − who he refers to as his children.

Earlier this month, Milei took to the stage in Buenos Aires for an event that appeared to be part book launch, part rock concert and part political rally. Milei's book, "The Construction of the Miracle," compiles his speeches and social media posts going back several years. It's 573 pages. On stage in front of an estimated 15,000 people, the former frontman in a Rolling Stones tribute band sang a nine-track set of mostly 1980s rock anthems.

“I’m human,” he told the packed stadium at one point. "It might not seem like it, but I am."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump hosts 'favorite president,' a self-described 'anarcho-capitalist.' Who is Javier Milei?

Reporting by Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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