World leaders from China and Argentina join heads of far-right parties to attend Trump’s inauguration

Guests include Chinese vice president, leaders of Italy, Argentina, Ecuador and heads of European far-right parties

President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in today in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in front of a number of world leaders and other guests as he becomes the 47th president.

Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance are set to take the oath of office during a day that will include celebrations such as musical performances and a parade. Trump is breaking with tradition, inviting several foreign leaders, both allies and rivals. U.S. inaugurations are usually not attended by foreign world leaders; other countries tend to be represented by foreign ministers and ambassadors.

Today’s event is also unusual in that the proceedings will take place indoors, not outside, facing the National Mall because of the frigid temperatures.

Here are some of the world leaders and other guests attending the inauguration:

Argentinian President Javier Milei, who visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club last month, is attending. Trump has called Milei a man who can “make Argentina great again.”

While Trump invited Chinese President Xi Jinping, he will not attend. China is instead represented by Vice President Han Zheng.

President of Argentina Javier Milei (L) and Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni arrive to the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni is in Washington for the inauguration. The leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party visited Mar-a-Lago earlier this month.

Daniel Noboa, the president of Ecuador, has also traveled to Washington for the proceedings in the middle of a re-election campaign.

The former prime minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawieck, who is now the leader of the European Conservatives and Reformists in the E.U. parliament, is attending the inauguration.

Vice President of China Han Zheng (L) and Former Executive Chairman of Fox Corp Rupert Murdoch (R) attend the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

While U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer hasn’t been invited, Nigel Farage, the leader of the rightwing Reform Party, is in D.C. for the events.

Similarly, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was not invited, but the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Alice Weidel, has been. She is, however, represented at the proceedings by co-leader Tino Chrupalla.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is representing Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Meanwhile, the leaders of the Spanish rightwing Vox party, Santiago Abascal and Portugal’s Chega Party, Andre Ventura, are attending, as is French far-right politician Eric Zemmour of the Reconquest party.

Even as Trump didn’t attend Biden’s inauguration four years ago, the outgoing president and First Lady Jill Biden are attending the inauguration. All living former presidents are attending the event, including Bill Clinton, George W Bush, and Barack Obama. While Michelle Obama will not attend, her fellow former First Ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton are.

Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Elon Musk of Tesla and TikTok CEO Shou Chew are also attending.