Trump’s bailout of Argentina is not an act of economic prudence (economists across the spectrum say it makes no sense), but of ideological finance. The goal is to shore up an ally in the US’s back yard and discredit opponents, especially the leftwing Perónist tendency in Argentinian politics that Trump equates with his own domestic opponents. Historically, Washington dressed up these types of ideological interventions as serving the greater good, defined in terms of US interests. But Trump has dispensed with even that pretence. For him, foreign policy is not strategic: it’s anchored by personal loyalties.