Former U.S. President Donald Trump praised President Javier Milei’s austerity measures and said he “loved” him during a campaign speech in Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday — although he did not mention Argentina’s libertarian leader by name.

“This is the greatest moment in the history of our country, maybe in the history of any country. Even Argentina, they went MAGA, you know Argentina, great guy,” Trump told the crowd at the rally. “He’s a big Trump guy. He loves Trump, I love him, because he loves Trump. When he called I took his call, and anybody that loves me, I like them!” 

He praised Milei’s promises to “make Argentina great again” — a variant on Trump’s own campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again” — before continuing: “He’s doing a good job over there, he’s cutting like hell, he’s getting rid of a lot of waste in a lot of things and I hope they do well, because it’s a beautiful country, but I really think they have a good head man right now, he’s a tough guy.”

Milei and Trump met informally at the far-right Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington on February 24, embracing and having their photo taken together. Milei addressed Trump as “president” and said he was “very generous” for mentioning him in his speech. 

During Trump’s CPAC address, he called Milei “a great gentleman,” adding: “He’s MAGA, Make Argentina Great Again.”

Trump is the favorite to secure the Republican party’s presidential nomination ahead of November’s U.S. presidential elections. If he wins against President Joe Biden, he would take office in January 2025, meaning that he would overlap with Milei’s presidential term by three years.