The reported list of foreign invitees to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is a rogue gallery of illiberal international politicians, in what seems like an unsubtle signal about the kind of government Trump intends to lead in his upcoming term.
A Trump spokesperson confirmed that Chinese President Xi Jinping is among several foreign leaders who have been invited to attend, although Xi is reportedly unlikely to accept.
But Trump can still hold out hope that his other authoritarian allies will. The self-described “world’s coolest dictator,” Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, is also on the list, along with chainsaw-wielding archconservative Argentinian President Javier Milei and far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The Salvadoran ambassador to the U.S. confirmed Bukele had received an invitation but said they haven’t heard whether he will attend. Milei’s team said he does plan to attend, and Meloni confirmed at a news conference that she’s been invited, saying she’d be “happy to be there” if her schedule permits.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was recently indicted for allegedly launching a Jan. 6-style coup attempt after losing his 2022 re-election bid, also said he’s been invited — but his passport has been revoked amid those legal problems, which is posing some travel issues for him. And Politico reported far-right French politician Eric Zemmour and his wife have received an invitation, citing three anonymous sources who were familiar with the couple’s discussions with the Trump team.
A presidential historian told the Miami Herald that having foreign heads of state at a U.S. presidential inauguration is unprecedented and “can be seen as ‘a requirement to curry favor and prove loyalty to President-elect Trump.’”
Between the illiberal leaders invited to attend and the rich corporate elites offering up millions to bankroll the thing, Trump’s second inauguration is on track to be a spectacle with all the trappings of a country drifting away from democracy to a darker alternative.