Argentina’s President Milei Gives a Chainsaw to Elon Musk

We, at American VantagePoint, believe everyone in our audience is well familiar with Argentina’s President Javier Milei, who has remarkably transformed and vastly improved Argentina since his election in 2023.

Per Wikipedia, “For over 20 years, Milei was a professor of macroeconomics, the economics of growth, microeconomics, and mathematics for economists. He specializes in economic growth and has taught several economic subjects in Argentine universities and abroad. He had written more than 50 academic papers by 2016.”

Outside of Argentina, he is widely known for his flamboyance, and during his presidential campaign he was often seen with a chainsaw, a trademark of sorts, that indicated his intent to cut the size and cost of government. He has been a great friend of President Trump and of Elon Musk, and has traveled to the U.S. on several occasions.

Milei presented a gift chainsaw to Musk, who judging by his reaction, was delighted with the gift. The chainsaw was engraved with Milei’s slogan, “Viva la libertad, carajo,” which is Spanish for “Long live liberty, damn it.”

Then, they both appeared on stage at the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) meeting in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Musk’s appearance at CPAC was something of a surprise, as it had only been announced that morning. Musk came on stage, wearing sunglasses and a black “Make America Great Again” ballcap. He said Milei had a gift for him, and Milei came onstage with the red and stainless chainsaw. Musk held it aloft and declared, “This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy!

Here’s the entire CPAC interview with Elon Musk. He speaks of the work being done by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which he heads, and other subjects.