A couple weeks ago, President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the US would be injecting $20 billion into Argentina ahead of Javier Milei’s election.

The Far-Left and the Panicans within MAGA lost their minds, claiming it was not America First.

Here’s one example of all the negative posts on the topic:

But as usual, President Trump was right again and of course it was entirely AMERICA FIRST all along!

Scott Bessent went on MSNBC today to school them on what actually happened….

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SPOILER ALERT: Not only was it not a “bailout” but the US actually MADE MONEY on the entire thing.

Classic Trump!

Watch here:

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Interviewer:
And amid this discussion of costs and prices and affordability, how does a $20 billion bailout of Argentina help Americans?
You’re the president’s point person on that.
Can you explain to those here who are feeling the pinch, including America’s farmers, why the United States is helping out Argentina?

Treasury Secretary:
Well, do you know what a swap line is?
It’s a currency swap, yes.
Yes, but what is that?

You’re the Treasury Secretary.
Yes, but why would you call it a bailout?
Because in most bailouts, you don’t make money.

The U.S. government made money.
We used our financial balance sheet to stabilize the government, one of our great allies in Latin America, during an election.
The president there won in a landslide.

The government’s going to make money, and I would rather use peace through economic strength than have to be shooting at narco boats coming offshore if the government collapsed.

We have a generational opportunity in Latin America to create allies.
We just saw an election in Bolivia.
We’re probably going to see an election in Colombia.
We’ve seen them in Ecuador.
We’re going to see them in Chile.

So by stabilizing the economy there and making a profit, then that’s a very good deal for the American people.
And, you know, there’s a lot we could have been doing for American farmers, but Democrats closed the government.

Backup video here if needed:

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In case you’re still a little confused by the whole thing (I don’t blame you, international high finance is not exactly easy to follow), let me break it down in a way that’s really easy to understand:

What happened:
The United States didn’t give Argentina $20 billion as a gift.
Instead, the U.S. and Argentina made a currency swap agreement.

What is a currency swap (in plain terms):
Imagine you and a friend trade money for a while.
You give your friend $10, and your friend gives you $10 worth of their currency.
Later, your friend gives you your $10 back plus a little extra (interest).

That’s not a bailout.
A bailout is when you give money you may never get back.
A swap is more like a loan with a guaranteed return.

Why the U.S. did it:
Argentina’s economy was shaky, and there was a risk their government could collapse.
If that happened, it could create:

  • More drug trafficking problems

  • More instability in the region

  • Another crisis that the U.S. would have to deal with later (possibly with military force)

So the U.S. stepped in early, to keep them stable.

How the U.S. Made Money:

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  • The U.S. lent dollars to Argentina.

  • Argentina had to pay them back with interest.

  • Because of how these deals are structured, the risk was very low.

  • When Argentina paid the money back, the U.S. ended up with more money than it loaned out.

So, the U.S. profit came from interest, just like a bank earns money when someone repays a loan.

Why the Treasury Secretary says this helps Americans:
Her argument is:

  • It’s cheaper to prevent a crisis than to fix one later.

  • A stable Argentina becomes a friendly trading partner.

  • Friendly trading partners can buy more American products (like U.S. farm goods).

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  • The U.S. made extra money instead of losing money.

So in one sentence:
The U.S. didn’t give money away —
it temporarily loaned money to Argentina and got back more than it loaned, which means the U.S. made a profit while also preventing bigger problems later.

That’s why she says the U.S. “made money” in this situation.

Now the final question….

If you’re like me you might be wondering two final questions:  (1) when do we get the $20 billion back, and (2) how much, exactly, did the US make on this deal?

I’m glad you asked!

While all of the details are not known, a reasonable estimate could be $150M – $300M if the swap were to stay in place for a full year:

1. The U.S. did not permanently spend $20 billion.

This was a swap line (a temporary currency exchange), not a check or a grant.

  • The U.S. provided dollars.

  • Argentina provided an equal value of its own currency or collateral.

  • Argentina must return the dollars plus interest when the swap ends.

So the $20 billion is not gone. It is expected to be returned in full.

2. When do we get the $20 billion back?

Swap lines are usually short-term, renewed in 30–90 day cycles.

This means:

  • Argentina borrows dollars for a short period.

  • Pays interest during that time.

  • Then returns the dollars.

  • If needed, the swap can be extended — but it still results in repayment.

So the U.S. will get the $20B back either:

  • In one repayment at the end of the swap period, or

  • In rolling repayments as the swap renews.

In all standard cases, the dollars return to the U.S. Treasury/Fed.

There is no scenario under a normal swap line where the U.S. permanently loses the principal unless Argentina defaults on the swap — but swap lines are structured to make default extremely hard, because the U.S. holds collateral and can reverse the trade instantly.

3. How much did the U.S. make?

This is where accuracy matters.

The U.S. earns interest on the swap.
The interest rate on Fed/Treasury swap lines is usually:

Overnight interest rate + a small additional margin (often ~0.25% to 1.00%)

If we use a typical real-world example:

  • If the interest worked out to about 1% annually on $20B,

  • Then the U.S. would earn about:

1% of $20,000,000,000 = $200,000,000 per year

So a reasonable scale is:

Amount Provided Likely Annual Profit Range
$20 Billion ~$150M – $300M per year

But we cannot say the exact number without:

  • The contract rate

  • The duration of the swap

  • Whether it rolled over multiple times

Those details are not publicly released.

This is why the Treasury Secretary can say “we made money”
but cannot yet point to a final profit total — the swap is ongoing.

4. So do we have the money back right now?

Most likely:

  • We have already received some interest, because interest is paid as the swap renews.

  • The $20B principal is either:

    • Still in the active swap cycle, or

    • Already partly returned but not publicly disclosed yet.

Swap repayment schedules are not published day-by-day.

 

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