In a television crossover that generated controversy, President Javier Milei was involved in a tense exchange with his friend and journalist Esteban Trebucq during an interview on LN+. The episode occurred when Trebucq consulted him about a statement by Donald Trump, who had conditioned US economic aid to the results of the October 26 legislative elections. Visibly annoyed, Milei responded: “If you interrupt me, grab and interpret the Clarín Group, which has problems and likes to scam people.”
Tension increased when Trebucq mentioned Trump’s tweet that made that position explicit. Milei accused Clarín of decontextualizing the former US president’s statements to harm his government and maintained that it was a malicious interpretation for political purposes. This is not the first time that the president has targeted the media group: he maintains a strained relationship with the newspaper, despite the fact that some of its content is favorable to him.
The episode deepens the polarization of the presidential speech. In recent events, Milei has equated Clarín with C5N, a channel historically critical of his management. At an event at the Movistar Arena, he presented a video generated with artificial intelligence in which he united both media under the same manipulation logic. However, the reaction against Trebucq – whom the president considers a friend – was seen as an excess, interpreted by analysts and users on social networks as a sign of stress or impulsivity.
The crossing occurs in a delicate economic context: Trump’s phrase generated uncertainty in the markets, with a drop of USD 349 million in reserves and an increase in the interest rate to 70%. Milei denied that US aid is conditional on the election results and denied pressure to distance itself from China. However, the confrontation with Trebucq exposes the tensions between political power, the media and personal ties, in a campaign scenario marked by sensitivity and wear and tear.
