 "Donald Trump’s inauguration: Who’s attending and who’s not?")
The who’s who of global leaders and influential figures are hoping to attend US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
Trump, known for his unconventional approach and doing what it takes to get things done, has broken another tradition by inviting foreign presidents and prime ministers to the event.
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Reports indicate that Trump has raised over $170 million for the inauguration - a record amount, with tech executives and major donors contributing large sums to support the ceremony.
According to Federal Election Commission records, the huge funds raised by Trump’s presidential inaugural committee are more than twice the $62 million secured by President Joe Biden four years ago for his inauguration.
Vice-President JD Vance will also be sworn in during the same event. The inauguration ceremony is scheduled to begin at 10:30 PM (India time).
Invitations have been extended to several major global powers and key US allies, including India. At the same time, key industry figures are scrambling to secure VIP passes in hopes of gaining favour with the incoming administration.
Donald Trump’s inauguration event: Who’s attending?
Joe Biden
Joe Biden confirmed he would “of course” attend Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, dismissing what he termed the Republican’s “childish game.”
“The only president ever to avoid an inauguration is the guy that’s about to be inaugurated,” Biden said in an interview aired on the Meidas Touch network.
While the White House had earlier announced Biden’s presence, this marked the first time Biden personally addressed the matter.
Notably, Trump did not attend Biden’s swearing-in as the 46th US president on January 20, 2021. He became the first president in 150 years to avoid a tradition symbolising the peaceful transfer of power in the US.
Bill Clinton, George W Bush, Barack Obama
Former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush will attend Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony. The former first ladies are also expected to attend, except for Michelle Obama, according to the Obamas’ office.
However, the former presidents will not be attending President-elect Donald Trump’s traditional inaugural lunch. Former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton also received an invitation to the luncheon but will not attend, CBS News reported.
Former US Vice President Mike Pence is also expected to be present at the inauguration, The New York Times reported.
China’s Xi Jinping was invited, his VP to attend
Chinese President Xi Jinping received a personal invitation from Trump, which was a surprising move amid the ongoing geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told CBS News about the invite, stating it is an example of Trump “creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just our allies but our adversaries and our competitors.”
However, it was later announced that China’s Vice President, Han Zheng, would attend the inauguration on behalf of Xi Jinping, whom Trump had originally invited to the event.
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has expressed her intention to attend Trump’s inauguration, though she is still checking her schedule.
“If I can, I will gladly participate,” she said.
Meloni had earlier been invited by Trump to his inauguration and a surprise dinner and movie at Mar-a-Lago. During the event, Trump praised her as a “fantastic woman” and stated, “She’s really taken Europe by storm.”
Her visit to Mar-a-Lago was widely seen as a huge display of support for the next US president.
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Argentina’s Javier Milei
A key ally of Donald Trump, Argentina’s President Javier Milei plans to attend the inauguration ceremony, a spokesperson confirmed to CBS News last month.
Bloomberg News was the first to report Milei’s attendance, citing an official from the Argentine government.
Elected as the head in 2023, Milei is known for his close relationship with Trump.
El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele
Last year, Donald Trump Jr. attended the inauguration of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele for his second term.
Bukele was among the first global leaders to publicly congratulate Trump after his electoral victory.
Hungary’s Viktor Orban
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban is said to have received an invitation to the event, sources told CBS News and added that he is still deliberating on whether he will attend.
Orban, one of Trump’s most loyal foreign allies, was welcomed by Trump at Mar-a-Lago following his election win.
Many of Trump’s supporters in the US regard Orban’s policies as a potential model for Trump’s second term.
Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro
Jair Bolsonaro, a former President of Brazil, revealed that he had been invited to attend the inauguration and is currently working to reclaim his passport, which was seized last year during an investigation into the 2023 attempted coup.
Bolsonaro took to X to express his “honour at receiving the invitation” and stated that his lawyer, Paulo Bueno, had already submitted a request for Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to release the passport.
Japan’s Takeshi Iwaya
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya confirmed plans to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration, as Japan seeks to strengthen its relationship with the incoming US administration.
“We aim to build a relationship of trust with the Trump administration,” Iwaya said in an interview on NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster.
Japan, a longtime US ally, is eager to set the stage for a successful second term with Trump in office.
Who will represent India?
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to represent India at Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a press release that Jaishankar would hold meetings with members of the incoming administration and other dignitaries attending the event.
The MEA statement read, “On the invitation of the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar will represent the Government of India at the Swearing-In Ceremony of President-Elect Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States of America.”
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Which tech leaders are expected to attend?
A group of tech CEOs, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, TikTok’s Shou Chew, and Google’s Sundar Pichai, are expected to attend Trump’s inauguration.
These tech leaders, many of whom have forged closer ties with the president-elect in recent months, were scheduled to sit on the inauguration dais alongside Cabinet nominees and elected officials before the ceremony moved indoors, CBS News reported.
Other leaders
Aside from key world leaders, Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration.
French far-right politician Eric Zemmour will also be present at the ceremony.
An advisor from Team Trump told CNN, “Trump is very eager to have world leaders at the inauguration. He wants a global stage.”
Nigel Farage, a UK politician, also confirmed his attendance, according to Sky News.
Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony: Who’s not attending?
Michelle Obama
Former First Lady Michelle Obama will not be attending Donald Trump’s inauguration. A statement from her office did not provide a specific reason for her absence but mentioned that she also skipped another event this month.
Notably, she did not accompany her husband to the funeral of former US President Jimmy Carter, which was attended by every other living former president and first lady.
Nancy Pelosi
Representative Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House and a key opponent of Trump during his first term, will also be missing the inauguration. The 84-year-old is still recovering from hip replacement surgery after a fall during an official trip to Luxembourg, though she has been attending votes in the House.
Donald Trump’s inauguration: Who’s not invited?
Notably absent from the event will be Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, who have reportedly not received invitations.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also not attend but expressed interest in engaging with the new administration early on.
“There has been no invitation and there are no plans to attend,” EU spokeswoman Paula Pinho confirmed, adding, “We will be seeking early contacts with the new administration.”
With inputs from agencies
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