Who’s
been invited? World’s far-right populists pack guest list for Trump’s
inauguration
The U.S.
president-elect lays down a clear ideological marker with his unusual invitees
from across the globe.
January 16, 2025 4:01 am CET
By Nicholas Vinocur and Nahal Toosi
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 chancellor
candidate 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. Party co-leader, Tino Chrupalla, will be going instead, the party
announced on Thursday.
Following Elon Musk’s enthusiastic endorsement of the AfD,
Chrupalla’s attendance is another sign that the Trump administration will
actively boost Germany’s far right at the expense of the country’s next
coalition government, which polls suggest will be led by conservatives.
Germany’s conservatives are sending Jürgen Hardt, foreign
policy spokesperson for the Christian Democratic Union. Berlin’s envoy to the
U.S., Andreas Michaelis, will also 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.
This article has been updated.
Eli Stokols, Phelim Kine, Clea Caulcutt, Aitor
Hernández-Morales, Nette Nöstlinger, Matt Honeycombe-Foster and Hugo Murphy
contributed reporting.
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