Milei is not just compared to the former President because of his mane but primarily for his willingness to call out the evils of those in power in the deep state, the police state, establishment politicians, and the mainstream media. With his name becoming aligned with drawing news and attention, Milei received a lot of media coverage in the same way Trump did in 2016, mounting a trouncing of over twelve points over his opponent, far-left activist and Peronist Economy Minister Sergio Massa, to win the election.
The primary tool that can be attributed to Milei’s win from his angle is his usage of the media’s hatred of him as a tool. While many may have viewed the national deputy as unelectable or too controversial to be elected on stage, the president-elect used the attention he was getting to manifest one of the most successful national campaigns based on populism, small government, and nationalism that the world has seen since the election of Donald Trump in the United States.
Moreover, this speaks volumes about what is currently happening throughout the United States as a country and worldwide in global politics. Trumpism has manifested at every level of government worldwide because of the successes of Trump’s victory in 2016, his presidency at large (especially in hindsight), and his likely 2024 win over incumbent President Joe Biden. Without Donald Trump winning in 2016 and his 2024 presidential bid, it is not expected that Milei or other politicians like Brexit architect Nigel Farage or Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán would have the victories they accomplished in their respective countries.
Trumpism is not just an ideology but a strategy. It is a combination of populism through a political identity centering around practical conservatism meshed with appropriate social and cultural battles. The approaches of Trumpism are combined around prioritizing the country’s needs before all instead of aid or reliance, as well as mounting economic and foreign policy, unlike anything the United States or other countries had previously witnessed. Anti-interventionism in foreign policy, economic nationalism, and a common sense-based reaction in policy to Cultural-Marxism in schools and the media industry have made rounds throughout the United States and the rest of the world on being unabashedly patriotic and unafraid to challenge the establishment status quo of politics.
Javier Milei is just the latest integration of Trumpism on the national stage. While establishment politicians, the mainstream media, and members of his party in the GOP may disagree with his tactics to change it for the better, it is undeniable that Trumpism works not only in national politics in the United States but in international electoral success as well.
