President Javier Milei met with incoming US secretary of state Marco Rubio, soon to be the United States’ top diplomat, at a black-tie gala in Washington on Monday night. Argentina’s head of state dressed up to the nines for the Starlight Gala, staged to mark the inauguration of Donald Trump as the United States’ 47th president.

While Rubio’s anti-China rhetoric aligns with Washington’s broader geopolitical goals, the tools at his disposal are insufficient to match Beijing’s economic engagement.

Milei was in an ebullient mood, cheered on by an appreciative Davos audience. He has some justification for a victory lap after delivering Argentina’s first fiscal surplus since 2009 and wrangling monthly inflation to under 3% — from over 25% when he took office in late 2023.

Argentina's President Javier Milei was among the stacked line ... ball in Northwest D.C. The honorary chairs include Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Ted Cruz of Texas and Bernardo Moreno of ...

President-elect Donald Trump invited Chinese President Xi Jinping and conservative world leaders such as Argentine President Javier Milei and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni to the inauguration. Xi is sending his vice president as his representative.

(Reuters) As Argentine President Javier Milei prepares to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration ... “Milei will be positioned near Trump and key figures such as Elon Musk and Marco Rubio, solidifying a connection that no other regional leader has achieved ...

President-elect Donald Trump invited Chinese President Xi Jinping and conservative world leaders such as Argentine President Javier Milei and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni to the inauguration. Xi sent his vice president as his representative.

As Javier Milei attends Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, the shared ideological, geopolitical, and economic ties between the two leaders highlight their mutual goals and the challenges ahead.

Despite other foreign-policy disagreements, a consensus is emerging among Republicans: The US must take an ultra-hawkish approach to Latin America.

For the first time in U.S. history, a president-elect is welcoming foreign leaders for one of the most American political traditions — the peaceful transfer of power.

Argentina's President Javier Milei, center, speaks with former Speaker ... indicates the deepening ties between the two countries. Earlier this week, Milei met with Marco Rubio, the newly appointed secretary of state, at a gala event.

Trump gained a larger share of Black and Latino voters than he did in 2020, when he lost to Democrat Joe Biden – most notably among young Black and Hispanic male voters – according to AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of more than 120,000 voters.