The Daily Show's Diagnosis Of Javier Milei, Argentina's President-Elect: 'A Psychopath'

The election of libertarian outsider Javier Milei to Argentina's presidency continues to reverberate around the globe, not only because of the country's abrupt shift in political direction towards the far-right but also due to his personality, characterized by his incendiary rhetoric and certain facets of his personal life.

Attention-grabbing headlines have included cosplaying as captain "Ancap" (likely an acronym for anarcho-capitalist), attempting to clone his dog Conan multiple times, and using a chainsaw to symbolize a willingness to slash public spending. The Daily Show is the latest to seize upon these headlines for a political comedy skit.

After a brief recap detailing that Milei has Donald Trump's approval and that his election came amid over 140 percent inflation and a 40 percent poverty rate, guest host Dulce Sloan started by describing Milei as an "evil Austin Powers." "He wants to get rid of Environment, Women and Culture (ministries)? That's everything you need to have a country," she added, in reference to a clip showing him promising to get rid of several areas of the state.

"How come every time a TV personality gets elected, he's a psychopath? Why can't you all vote for someone good like Steve Harvey?", said Sloan, before describing Milei as "weird" for "carrying a chainsaw, cloning his dog and being a tantric sex coach."

This is not the first late night show to pick Milei apart: in a recent edition of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver dedicated a longer segment to the then-candidate showing his concern for several of his campaign proposals. After watching an Argentine interviewee dressed as a chainsaw saying he voted for Milei because he was "something different," he stated: "Many ideas haven't been tried before, among them letting a raccoon be chief of surgery. That's because some ideas are just bad."

But not all political actors in the U.S. were dismayed by the elections. Besides Trump, who congratulated Milei saying he will "make Argentina great again," Elon Musk reacted to a publication on X (formerly Twitter) saying "prosperity is ahead for Argentina."

Milei defeated Peronist Sergio Massa in the runoff on Sunday for over 10 points, a larger margin than expected by pollsters, riding a wave of discontent with a movement that has been at the helm of the country for the better part of the last 20 years.

He has promised to implement a number of radical reforms, including the abolition of the central bank and the adoption of the US dollar as the country's currency. However, it is unclear whether he will have the political capital to implement these changes.

Milei has also anticipated his intention to privatize several state-run media companies: the national radio, the public TV broadcaster and a news agency. He also mentioned state-run oil company YPF, showing willingness to privatize it but saying it has to be "put back on track" first.