Argentinian presidential frontrunner Javier Milei, in an interview with Tucker Carlson, accused Pope Francis of being a “communist” and cosying up to “bloody” dictatorships in Latin America.
In the interview the libertarian gave last week, Milei lashed out at Argentina’s political “caste,” promised to fix inflation, called abortion immoral and questioned the science behind climate change.
Carlson is nearly as controversial as controversial as Milei. The former Fox News host was fired in May after the network shelled out $787 million to settle a defamation case brought by an election technology company.
Milei, in the interview also said he won't do business with China or communist, which included Russian President Vladimir Putin and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
On abortion, he said, “Life begins at conception, a new being is formed with a distinct DNA. It’s true that the woman has rights over her own body, but this child is not her body. Therefore, an abortion is a homicide aggravated by the family ties and the difference in relative force.”
Milei blamed Argentina's inflation woes on the country's “embrace of socialist ideas" and vowed to solve inflation. Milei said his plans include slashing spending by at least 13 per cent of gross domestic product before mid-2025 by dramatically downsizing public works, reducing the number of ministries, and removing subsidies and capital restrictions that would allow businesses to transact in US dollars, Bloomberg reported.
He also criticised the central bank, calling it “the worst garbage that exists on this Earth.” Milei, known for his tousled hair, also said that he would dollarise the economy and shut down some ministries to fix the economy.
Milei will run for president in October alongside centre-right coalition candidate Patricia Bullrich and the ruling coalition candidate Economy Minister Sergio Massa.