As a general rule, most of us at Twitchy (certainly this writer) try not to heap admiration on politicians. Very few of them ever show themselves to be worthy of it and they have a nasty tendency to bite us in the tuchus whenever we do start to like them too much. A good rule of thumb is to view them all with a healthy dose of skepticism. It saves us a lot of disappointment later.
But Javier Milei seems bound and determined to test our resolve on that particular rule.
The newly elected President of Argentina has an endearing populist nature to him, there's no question about it. And his flamboyance has an attractive quality as well, whether it is campaigning with a live chainsaw as a symbol of his plans to cut government programs and spending or flying all the way over to Davos just to tell the WEF to get bent, Milei has 'it,' whatever 'it' is (the kids today say 'rizz,' but we honestly don't know what that means).
Milei showed off his populist flair once more this week, returning home from Rome on a commercial flight -- as opposed to a private presidential jet -- and shaking hands and taking selfies with cheering passengers on the flight before the plane took off. Watch:
The President of Argentina does not fly private— the leader is not removed from his people.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 13, 2024
He flies commercial, with the citizens he represents.
And they LOVE him for it.
Javier Milei is the embodiment of true populism.
pic.twitter.com/P1bON0SfKH
This isn't the first time Milei has eschewed the privilege of a presidential flight. One of his early promises as president was to decommission his presidential aircraft and always fly commercial as a way to save Argentina money. Back in December, he was filmed on another commercial flight smiling and shouting his signature slogan, '¡Viva la libertad, carajo!' Roughly translated, 'Long live freedom, damn it' (though 'carajo' does have another, less family-friendly meaning ... we'll let you look that up yourself.)
Recommended
ATENCIÓN:
— Lily Ramos (@LiliramosLanus1) December 29, 2023
VIVA LA LIBERTAD C*****
VIVA LA LIBERTAD C*****
VIVA LA LIBERTAD C*****@JMilei
@JMPresidente23 @EugeniaRolon_ pic.twitter.com/eQziodE7Km
Despite our most wary political instincts, it's difficult not to love the guy just a little bit.
This is a good man, right here. We need more of him in the world. https://t.co/39U8YqfJ3T
— QueenMother👸🏻 (@QueenMother1976) February 14, 2024
Sure, this is all a show and sure, Milei knows how to play to the crowd. But we think, more than this, what makes him a politician we can like are the actions he has taken since he defied the odds to win the Argentinian election back in early December. He has chopped the country's government bureaucratic agencies in half (from 18 to 9), deregulated Argentina's economy, refused to join BRICS, and referred to climate change alarmism as 'a socialist lie promoted by neo-Marxists.'
Right on.
Here Milei is in Italy while on his tour, turning the argument for expansion of government social programs on its head:
Milei in Italy 2024: Europe's Growth Problem.
— Milei Explains (@Milei_Explains) February 13, 2024
About: Reducing the state, social programs, public works, public spending, Europe, growth, Keynesian. pic.twitter.com/OrwMQQt9w3
The only way this would be better is if Milei was also handing out Milton Friedman books. https://t.co/evSO7U0XRn
— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) February 13, 2024
LOL. Exactly. Too many Keynesians, as Milei himself said.
Wouldn't work for Justin Trudeau - too many Canadians hate him. https://t.co/5mUgTDC9zI
— Jeff Harris (@TheVotersSay) February 13, 2024
It seems to us that Trudeau hates Canadians right back. But honestly, as bad as Trudeau is, we'd be hard-pressed to think of ANY chief executive in any major Western country right now who could pull off something like this the way Milei does. And that's pretty sad for those countries, including the United States.
You've got to admire a country's leader who obviously cuts his own hair with a knife & fork
— W.A.Dad (@grazinggoat66) February 14, 2024
👍👏😎 https://t.co/EuLCeB5oeV
HA. You know who would enjoy that joke at Milei's expense? Milei would. In addition to embracing his nickname 'el Loco' (the crazy one), Milei's supporters also call him 'el Peluca' (the wig) for his wild hairstyle.
No doubt why globalist hate him 💀 pic.twitter.com/tVUwECsQ81
— AMUSIC (@TRUMP4USD) February 13, 2024
Nope, the left doesn't like him one bit.
"Embodiment of true populism"?
— Robbie Parlane (@RParlane) February 14, 2024
Rethink this. pic.twitter.com/mO8rKHDNfH
See what we mean? Israel was also part of Milei's recent tour. God forbid he showed some respect for that country's history and traditions while he was there.
— Janiceeee (@jaaaniceeeee) February 13, 2024
We love that meme.
As we said at the outset, we're skeptical of politicians as a rule, and just hanging out with the public on a plane isn't enough to change that all by itself.
But it is working. Granted, he is still in the honeymoon phase of his presidency, but Milei enjoys unprecedented approval in Argentina and around the world, even as the leftist corporate media tries to tear him down with everything they can throw at him.
Add to that the programs he is implementing (or cutting as the case may be) and his general political philosophy, and Argentinians may have found themselves a truly rare gem in Javier Milei.
Time and the results of his programs will tell, of course, but he is off to a great start and we love to see it.
***
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