Milei soaks up CPAC stage with Elon Musk and a chainsaw

The surprise of the first day of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the annual conclave of Trumpism held south of Washington, was actually two-fold. In the morning, the presence of Elon Musk, the most recent, closest, and most powerful ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was announced, although he was not on the program. The audience at the convention center erupted in applause and rose to their feet when he appeared on the stage in the afternoon, wearing a cap and black mirrored glasses whose silhouette was reminiscent of one of those straight-line pickup trucks from Tesla, his electric vehicle company. And then came the second surprise. “I have a president with me,” said the billionaire. That president turned out to be Javier Milei, who appeared with a “gift” for Musk: a chainsaw. The “chainsaw for bureaucracy!” exclaimed Musk as he brandished it.

The chainsaw is the icon of Milei’s government, which, he says, came to power as a “mole” to destroy the state from within. The Argentine campaigned for the presidency with one in his hands and today he has a replica in his office at the Casa Rosada, the presidential residence. When he receives visitors, he likes to place the chainsaw in the foreground in the obligatory photo.

Before taking the stage at CPAC, Milei met Musk in an exclusive room at the convention center. He entered quickly and shouted, in English, “my friend!” Musk put on his sunglasses and hugged him. The Argentine president was hyperactive with emotion. “I brought you a gift,” he said to the tycoon, and opened a black box that contained the chainsaw that Musk would later wield on the CPAC stage, as a symbol that the richest man in the world also finds useful. He has been tasked by Trump with cutting expenses and slimming down the U.S. administration and has given himself body and soul to the appointment, his first victims the tens of thousands of civil servants who have already been fired.

Milei arrived in Washington Thursday in search of respite. The scandal over the cryptocurrency $Libra, a scam that Milei promoted last Friday from his account on X, has triggered legal complaints and a request for impeachment in Congress. The remedy proved even worse for him than the disease: a recorded interview given on Monday to clarify his situation ended in a fresh scandal after the leak of an unaired section that hinted at scripted questions and pressure on the journalist who conducted it. In need of good news, the Argentine traveled to the place where he feels most comfortable: close to his friend Trump, whom he considers his main ally, and ready to receive pats of encouragement on the back from Musk.

Beyond the political agenda, Milei will hold a crucial meeting with the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva. The Casa Rosada assures that a new agreement with the multilateral that will provide fresh funds to the international reserves of the central bank is practically sealed. The president said days ago that the agreement only needed to be “finalized.” Minister of Economy Luis Caputo, who was part of the delegation that traveled to Washington, confirmed that the technical part of the negotiation has already been agreed and only the amount of aid remains to be resolved. The Argentine government hopes to obtain at least $10 billion, the minimum amount needed to free up the exchange restrictions that currently hinder the arrival of new investments.

Milei arrived in Washington without any guarantees of a face-to-face meeting with Trump at the White House. The Argentine delegation is confident that there will at least be an informal meeting on Saturday, at the close of the CPAC. Milei is scheduled to give a speech before the end of the conference, which will be presided over by the U.S. president. Milei received a nod from Trump this week, when he was going through the worst of the $Libra crisis. The Republican published a message on Truth Social, his own network, with a photo of Milei and a phrase: “If printing money would end poverty, printing diplomas would end stupidity.” Milei reposted the comment, emboldened by the lifeline sent to him by his American counterpart.

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