Trump’s Egypt Visit and $20 Billion Argentina Loan Spark Outrage Amid Shutdown

 As Americans face another grueling government shutdown, President Donald Trump’s overseas dealings are drawing sharp scrutiny — and for good reason. While federal workers go unpaid and public services sit idle, the president is jetting across the Middle East and signing billion-dollar agreements that seem to benefit his allies abroad — and his family’s business interests at home.

Trump’s Egypt Visit Raises Questions

After delivering a speech before the Israeli parliament, Trump traveled to Egypt to sign a memorandum connected to the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire deal. But it wasn’t the policy itself that raised eyebrows — it was Trump’s comments.

He praised Egypt’s strongman president, Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, calling him “a great leader” and “a friend since the campaign against Crooked Hillary Clinton.”

Observers quickly questioned why Trump would bring up Hillary Clinton in a peace ceremony nearly a decade after their 2016 race. The answer may lie in a long trail of suspicious connections between Trump and Sissi — dating back to that very campaign.

Alleged Egyptian Money in Trump’s 2016 Campaign

In 2019, The Washington Post reported that U.S. intelligence had investigated whether Egypt’s government attempted to secretly funnel $10 million to Trump’s 2016 campaign. The theory: that money from Sissi’s regime was the same $10 million Trump later claimed to have personally loaned his campaign in its final days.

The investigation was allegedly shut down by the Trump administration before conclusions could be drawn. The campaign dismissed the story as “Fake News,” but years later, Trump still publicly thanks Sissi for his “help.”

Now, during a visit to Egypt, Trump’s words seem to rekindle those old suspicions.

A New Round of Foreign Favors

While in Egypt, Trump was also overheard on a hot mic apparently setting up a meeting between his son Eric Trump and the president of Indonesia — a country where the Trump Organization is building a luxury golf resort.

Eric Trump, who has no government position, has been promoting the new Indonesian property as one of the family’s “most stunning destinations.” Critics say the president’s intervention appears to blur — if not erase — the line between public service and private profit.

And Indonesia isn’t the only country tied to Trump’s business ventures. The family is also expanding in Qatar, where they plan another golf resort and luxury hotel. That relationship has raised new ethical alarms, especially after Qatar reportedly gave Trump a $400 million private jet, which he plans to refit using U.S. taxpayer money before keeping it for his presidential library.

“Fake NATO” for Qatar

Earlier this month, Trump announced that if Qatar were attacked, the United States would treat it as an attack on itself — effectively giving Qatar a kind of “fake NATO” protection without congressional approval.

Shortly afterward, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed that Qatar’s air force would begin operating out of Mountain Home Airbase in Idaho, sparking outrage and confusion. Hegseth later clarified that Qatar would not be building a base on U.S. soil — only using an existing one. Still, the optics were clear: Qatar gets a U.S. security guarantee and access to American facilities — while the Trump family gets lucrative development deals and luxury perks.

The Argentina “Bailout”

Even as U.S. federal workers go unpaid, Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has finalized a $20 billion loan to Argentina, a country whose currency has already fallen 27% this year. Officials claim it’s to stabilize the peso — but critics argue it’s an unnecessary use of taxpayer funds for a nation with little economic connection to the U.S.

Argentina has been bailed out 23 times by the International Monetary Fund, often without long-term results. Economists say the new U.S. loan is unlikely to be repaid — but it could benefit wealthy investors tied to Bessent’s former Wall Street firm, who have major stakes in Argentina’s market.

In short: $20 billion in taxpayer money is being sent to Buenos Aires while U.S. airports struggle, national parks close, and hospitals brace for budget shortfalls during the shutdown.

Corruption at the Core

From Egypt to Qatar to Argentina, one theme connects these stories — Trump’s presidency serving as a family business empire. Critics say it’s a classic pattern of authoritarian corruption: enriching the leader’s family and loyalists while ordinary citizens suffer.

“This is why every anti-authoritarian movement focuses on corruption and self-dealing,” one analyst said. “When leaders stop being accountable, they stop serving the people. They serve themselves.”

As the shutdown drags on, that reality is becoming impossible to ignore. While millions of Americans “white-knuckle” their way through halted paychecks and closed services, Trump’s global web of deals, jets, and private meetings shows exactly where his priorities lie — and they aren’t with the American people.