Donald Trump’s guest list for his Jan. 20 inauguration as U.S. president is shaping up to be a global Who’s Who of right-wing populists.
Inaugurations tend to be traditional, flag-waving affairs, an important democratic rite for the home crowd. Foreign diplomats typically attend as a courtesy, but heads of state and governments aren’t usually included.
Trump, of course, isn’t one for tradition. He has invited many of the foreign leaders he’s spoken to by phone or welcomed in person at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, such as Argentinian President Javier Milei and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
While the European centrist mainstream has been sidelined — EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has conspicuously not been invited — plenty of space has been afforded to far-right and nationalist politicians. British anti-EU populist Nigel Farage will be there, as will French firebrand Éric Zemmour, Belgium’s Tom Van Grieken, and former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who clashed with Brussels in a long rule-of law dispute.
Among them will be a smattering of ministers, diplomats and foreign politicians eager to get close to the next U.S. president.
Nothing about this is exactly normal, said Edward Frantz, chair of the department of history and political science at the University of Indianapolis, while noting that “the ceremony and the proceedings are really entirely a domestic matter.” Indeed, U.S. State Department data show no examples of foreign leaders attending the ceremony (though experts cautioned the data may be incomplete).
There is, however, a common ideological thread to his invitees: Many hail from the right or even the far-right of the political spectrum, or are leaders whom Trump has previously praised. In that sense, the inauguration reveals plenty about the political trajectory of his administration — and about who might have the president’s ear once he is installed at the White House.
The Meloni and Milei show
Topping the guest list are leaders like Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Milei, the Trump-styled populist who won Argentina’s presidency in 2023. The latter — who is being billed as a “titan of economic reform” on a flyer for a pre-inauguration “Official Hispanic Inaugural Ball” — confirmed his attendance a month ago.
Meloni, who visited Mar-a-Lago earlier this month and was dubbed a “fantastic woman” by Trump, has received an invitation and will attend the ceremony if her schedule permits, her office said. Also invited: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin who is known as the “bad boy” of European politics. Orbán will not be able to make it, his office told Hungarian media.
But for less Trump-aligned leaders, the calculus about attending an American inauguration isn’t as simple, given Trump’s well-known need for public displays of respect and his emphasis on personal relationships.
Despite her right-wing heritage, Meloni has worked well with the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden and democratic allies across NATO and the G7. While she might prefer to visit Washington after the chaos of inauguration week and get more one-on-one time with the president once the dust has settled, her stated desire to attend signals a level of respect for — and understanding of — Trump that could benefit the bilateral relationship.
“It would be strange for a leader to come, but they are treating the request as reasonable because it matters to Trump,” said one EU diplomat, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the calculations for Meloni and others. “No one is going to laugh this off, and some may even come, because they all need things from Trump.”
Trump invited China’s leader Xi to the inauguration last month. The request signaled Trump’s “willingness to have an open dialog” with Xi, Trump’s incoming press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told Fox News last month. It also clearly caught Chinese diplomats off-guard —Beijing’s embassy in Washington has yet to confirm whether they actually received an official invitation for Xi to attend, or whether Xi has responded.
The short notice for that invitation —not to mention the fact that Chinese heads of state have never attended any previous U.S. presidential inaugurations —made Xi’s attendance unlikely even had he wanted to attend. Beijing imposes military-style planning on the foreign travel arrangements of Chinese senior leaders, which typically take months to finalize. But Xi clearly wants to message goodwill to Trump by sending a senior official to attend the event: The Financial Times reported last week that candidates include Vice-President Han Zheng and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Han has a largely symbolic role in the Chinese leadership structure, but Wang’s attendance would likely segue into talks with Trump’s foreign policy team, including Secretary of State nominee Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and national security adviser Mike Waltz. The results of those meetings —and whether they involve a possible Chinese offer of an early trade deal to mitigate Trump’s promised tariffs on Chinese imports — could determine the tenor of U.S.-China ties at the outset of the administration.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s foreign minister, will attend, while Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya has also confirmed plans to be there.
The Trump transition has also extended invitations to El Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele (yet to confirm) and Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, who will attend the ceremony during a brief visit to Washington. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has also received an invitation, but won’t be able to attend having had his passport revoked amid an investigation.
In addition to X billionaire Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, tech moguls from across the pond are also attending the ceremony. French billionaire and tech entrepreneur Xavier Niel will be present with his wife.
European Who’s Who
From the United Kingdom, Trump’s transition team has invited not only the British Ambassador to the U.S. Karen Pierce but also Reform Party leader Farage. Despite a public spat with Trump’s close ally Musk, the arch-Brexiteer has confirmed his attendance.
From France, anti-immigration politician and author of apocalyptic bestseller “The French Suicide,” Zemmour, has confirmed his presence, as has his partner, European lawmaker Sarah Knafo. (French Ambassador to Washington Laurent Bili has also been invited and will attend.)
Trump’s allies have also opened their arms to Germany’s far right, sending an invitation to Alternative for Germany (AfD) party leader Alice Weidel, though her office told POLITICO that she would be unable to attend owing to a busy campaign schedule ahead of the Feb. 23 German election. It’s unclear whether another AfD politician will go in her place. However, Jürgen Hardt, foreign policy spokesperson for the conservative Christian Democratic Union, as well as Berlin’s envoy to the U.S. Andreas Michaelis will be attending.
Santiago Abascal, leader of Spain’s ultranationalist Vox party, has been invited in his capacity as president of the far-right European Patriots party, which includes members from 11 EU countries and has 86 MEPs in the European Parliament. From Portugal, André Ventura, head of the right-wing populist Chega party, was invited along with other hard-right European figures.
Poland’s Morawiecki told POLITICO on Tuesday that he would attend the ceremony in Washington, D.C.
The list of who was not invited is almost as revealing.
Von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, did not receive an invitation, according to her spokesperson. On the other hand, the EU ambassador to Washington, Jovita Neliupšienė, did make the cut and will attend the ceremony at the Capitol.
Also not invited: Marine Le Pen, the three-time French presidential candidate and far-right leader, as well as her protégé Jordan Bardella. Neither received an invitation, according to a party official.
One possible explanation: Le Pen and Bardella aren’t on the record as waxing effusive about the president-elect.
This is, after all, an event for those who played the game.
Eli Stokols, Phelim Kine, Clea Caulcutt, Aitor Hernández-Morales, Nette Nöstlinger, Matt Honeycombe-Foster and Hugo Murphy contributed reporting.
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