Presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni hit back at former Foreign Minister Diana Mondino on Friday, saying her comments on President Javier Milei’s role in the $LIBRA scandal were “totally unfortunate.” 

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Mondino called the Argentine president “either not very smart or some sort of corrupt” when asked about his involvement in the crypto scam, which is being investigated both in the US and Argentina.

During the interview, journalist Mehdi Hasan asked the former Argentine foreign minister her thoughts regarding the million-dollar scam Milei backed on social media back in February, and her answer made headlines worldwide. 

“[Milei] should not have [posted] that,” Mondino said. When asked to explain why the president did, she posited that “someone” probably told Milei about the cryptocurrency and “he thought it was a good idea.”

“There are two possibilities,” she added. “He is either not very smart, or he is corrupt in some way. You choose; I don’t know.” Mondino went on to say that, although she hoped that the president wasn’t corrupt, he would eventually have to pay the consequences if that happened to be the case. 

“Maybe she found herself in an interview for which she wasn’t prepared,” responded Adorni, who also described Mondino as “a smart person who clearly wasn’t having a good day or wasn’t clear on what she was saying.” 

Mondino, who was ousted from the administration in October last year, also made several comments on issues like Milei’s mental health and his position on deregulating the human organs market.

When questioned about Milei’s mental health, Hasan quoted Milei’s former economic advisor Carlos Rodríguez, who raised doubts about the president’s mental balance. While Mondino didn’t provide a direct answer, she did state that Rodríguez “is always right.”

The interviewer also quoted Milei’s famous metaphor of the state as “a pedophile” let loose in a kindergarten where kids are “chained” and “covered in Vaseline.” When Mondino tried to answer by describing her perspective on government spending, Hasan interrupted.

“But how do you justify that attitude?” he asked about the quote. 

“Well, I’m not marrying him, so I don’t have to like him,” she answered.