Argentina's Milei, Italy's Meloni among first foreign leaders to attend US presidential inauguration

WASHINGTON

The far-right leaders of Argentina and Italy will be among the first foreign heads of state to attend a presidential inauguration Monday when President-elect Donald Trump is formally sworn in for a second term in office.

Argentine President Javier Milei, the chainsaw-wielding Trump acolyte, is slated to attend the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol before attending an inaugural ball later Monday. Milei was the first foreign leader to visit Trump after he handily won the Nov. 5 presidential election.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will also attend. Georgia's former pro-Western President Salome Zourabichvili is attending as a guest of Republican Rep. Joe Wilson.

"As the only legitimate leader in Georgia, I am grateful to extend an invite to President @Zourabichvili_S to attend the inauguration of President @realDonaldTrump. I am in awe of her courage in the face of the assault by Ivanishvili and his friends in the CCP & Iranian regime," Wilson wrote on X Dec. 27.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa will also reportedly be among the foreign dignitaries, as will Paraguayan President Santiago Pena. It is unclear if Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele will be at the ceremony.

Trump also invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to the ceremonies, but Xi declined, and instead sent Vice President Han Zheng. The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed Han's attendance Friday as the president-elect vows to take a hardline stance against Beijing, threatening to compound already enacted tariffs on imports from China.

Other junior officials and politicians that will reportedly attend include Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, British politician Nigel Farage and far-right French politicians Eric Zemmour and Marion Marechal.