Trump reportedly pushed Argentine president to advance building project
Macri’s office denies La Nacion report, but no word from president-elect on claim he asked for Buenos Aires business boost
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US President-elect Donald Trump reportedly asked Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri to help push through a construction project in Buenos Aires when the two chatted over the phone last week, the Argentine daily newspaper daily La Nacion reported Monday.
According to the report, when Macri called Trump to congratulate him on his victory, the president-elect took the opportunity to ask him to push through the development of his skyscraper project in Buenos Aires that has been stalled for years.
“This still hasn’t emerged, but Trump asked for them to authorize a building he’s constructing in Buenos Aires, it wasn’t just a geopolitical chat,” the paper quoted journalist Jorge Lanata saying in a recent television interview, according to political website Talking Points Memo.
Macri’s office denied claims that the president-elect raised the issue of Trump Tower in Buenos Aires during their phone call, calling the report “absolutely untrue.”
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There was no immediate comment from Trump in response to the report.
The report in La Nacion came as Macri’s conservative government launched efforts to kick off a new phase of cooperation and trade with Washington following his victory in last year’s election, after years of strained US-Argentina relations under former president Cristina Fernandez.
Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra said in the immediate aftermath of the US election that Trump’s win would stall recent moves to improve relations between the countries.
The Argentine foreign minister said the “more closed, isolationist and xenophobic” model represented by the Republican would have a major impact on the world and relations with Latin America.
AP contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.