Foreign leaders attended Trump inauguration — in presidential first. Here’s who went
Crowded into the Capitol rotunda, alongside senators, Supreme Court justices and former presidents were a conspicuous handful of foreign leaders.
From Europe and South America they traveled — at the invitation of President Donald Trump — to attend the Jan. 20 inauguration.
Their attendance marks the first time foreign heads of state or government have been present at a U.S. president’s swearing-in ceremony, a historian previously told McClatchy News.
Which leaders attended?
Among the leaders to make an appearance was Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a right-wing populist with strong ties to Trump.
The pair had last met just a few weeks ago at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida estate.
“I’m here with a fantastic woman, the prime minister of Italy,” Trump said on Jan. 4, according to The Associated Press. “She’s really taken Europe by storm, and everyone else, and we’re just having dinner tonight.”
Argentinian President Javier Milei, a free-market conservative and staunch Trump ally, was also at the ceremony.
Milei was the first foreign leader to meet with Trump following his reelection in November, according to The Associated Press.
“Argentina stands firmly with the United States and is eager to collaborate closely with your administration,” Milei wrote to Trump in a post on X, formerly Twitter, the day after the inauguration.
Photos and videos taken during the ceremony show the Argentinian and Italian leaders seated close to Trump — a few rows behind former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
But, Milei wasn’t the only Latin American leader to show up at the Capitol. Also in attendance was Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, according to Reuters.
At 35, he became the youngest president in the country’s republican history, according to the World Economic Forum.
Which leaders declined?
At least several world leaders declined invitations from Trump to attend the inauguration, including, most notably, Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The invitation — which was extended shortly after the presidential election — signaled Trump’s willingness to create “an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just our allies but our adversaries and our competitors too,” a campaign spokesperson said, according to CBS News.
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, one of Jinping’s trusted advisers, attended the swearing-in ceremony instead, according to The Associated Press.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — a reliable Trump ally — was also invited and unable to make it to the inauguration, according to Politico.
This story was originally published January 21, 2025 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Foreign leaders attended Trump inauguration — in presidential first. Here’s who went."