'Make Argentina great again': Milei echoes Trump on U.S. visit

Argentine President Javier Milei and former U.S. president Donald Trump made calls to "make Argentina great again", as the right-wing firebrands met at a conservative conference on Saturday.

Known for their distinctive hair, spicy oratory and rejection of traditional political norms, the two men met behind the scenes at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, which they addressed separately.

And both were keen to repurpose Trump's electoral sales pitch -- "Make America great again" -- for the South American country.

"Make Argentina great again," Trump said as they posed for photos backstage, while Milei rasped his famous Spanish-language slogan: "Long live freedom, damn it!"

Despite myriad legal woes, Trump is gearing up for a probable rematch with President Joe Biden in November's elections, having lost to the Democrat in 2020.

And he was very much on home turf at CPAC, where he is wildly popular.

During his speech, Trump said Milei "has achieved a lot, he is a great gentleman, he is MAGA," noting that the acronym for his famous tagline works with either country's name.

Elected last year on a wave of anger over decades of economic crisis, right-winger Milei has embarked on massive economic deregulation by presidential decree.

He also has devalued the peso and cut state subsidies.

Milei too invoked "MAGA" in a speech.

"We are not going to give up on making Argentina great again," he said, during an address in which he warned that the world "is in danger" due to socialism.

He ended with a plea: "Do not give up your freedom, fight for your freedom because if you do not fight for freedom it will lead you to misery."

© Agence France-Presse