A host of guests. Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony will take place Monday, January 20, in Washington. The American president-elect, who will officially take his place at the White House that day, invited dozens of personalities, often close to his ideology, to the event. Some major figures from the world of economics will also be present, as will several artists who will perform during these celebrations. Who will be present? Overview.
Foreign leaders
Donald Trump has invited several world leaders to attend his inauguration. However, custom dictates that no foreign head of state or government be present at this time. The billionaire has once again chosen to shake up the codes in this area. Against all expectations, Chinese President Xi Jinping was asked to attend the event. The latter refused, but a senior Chinese government official should be present – the Financial Times mentioned in recent days the names of Vice-President Han Zheng or Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Supporter of Donald Trump and close to Elon Musk, the far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was also invited. But his arrival is still uncertain. “She is very indecisive [à ce sujet]. His schedule is truly hellish,” his entourage justified on Tuesday, January 14. Corriere della Serra. Also expected, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, another supporter of the billionaire, finally declined the invitation. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen was not invited. Many countries of the Old Continent will be represented by their ambassadors in Washington – this is the case of France, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom…
Several Latin American leaders are also invited to this ceremony. Ultraliberal President Javier Milei, another admirer of Donald Trump, will be there. Just like the President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, businessman elected to head the country in 2023 at only 35 years old. His counterpart from El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, who describes himself as a “cool dictator”, has not yet confirmed his presence. Although invited, the former far-right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro will be unable to travel to the United States… because his country’s justice system confiscated his passport as part of the investigation into the invasion of Parliament in Brasilia, in January 2023.
Figures of the European far right
Many personalities linked to the extreme right in Europe will travel to Washington this January 20. Nigel Farage, British elected official and president of the pro-Brexit Reform UK party, will be present. Several leaders of far-right movements in EU states are also expected to travel, such as the Spaniard Santiago Abascal (Vox), the Portuguese André Ventura (Chega), the Belgian Tom Van Grieken (Vlaams Belang) or the German Tino Chrupalla (AfD).
On the French side, the leader of Reconquête Eric Zemmour as well as MEP Sarah Knafo, elected under this label, have confirmed their presence across the Atlantic. Former Polish President Mateusz Morawiecki, president of the group of “European Conservatives and Reformists” (ECR), is also invited. He will go there in the company of Marion Maréchal, the vice-president of this group which brings together many far-right MEPs in the European Parliament.
American figures
In a more traditional way, some former American presidents will be present during this inauguration. Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will therefore be expected in Washington to attend the event. This should also be the case for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the billionaire’s favorite target during his first presidential campaign in 2016. As outgoing president, Joe Biden will also participate in the ceremony, accompanied by his wife Jill Biden. Same thing for Kamala Harris, outgoing vice-president and Democratic candidate against Donald Trump in the last race for the White House.
Business leaders
Proof of the importance given by Donald Trump to the business world, some of the most powerful business leaders in the world will attend the inauguration ceremony of the American president. The most obvious guest? Elon Musk, director of Tesla, Space . A ministry of “governmental efficiency” was entrusted to him.
Other tech moguls will be present. The boss of Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc.), Mark Zuckerberg is invited, like Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Tim Cook (Apple) or Sam Altman (OpenAI, the company behind the software artificial intelligence ChatGPT). The groups led by these four men respectively gave several hundred million dollars to Donald Trump’s team to finance his inauguration ceremony. The presence of TikTok CEO Shou Chew was also confirmed by several American media.
The artists
As tradition, several artists will deliver a musical performance during the ceremony. The Village People, whose famous song YMCA has become essential during Donald Trump’s rallies, will put on the show… even though the group had supported Kamala Harris during the presidential campaign. “Our song is a global anthem that will hopefully help bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign in which our favorite candidate lost,” the artists said. Singer Lee Greenwood and country specialist Carrie Underwood are also expected, as well as tenor Christopher Macchio, who will perform the American national anthem.