Argentinian President Javier Milei plans to attend Trump inauguration
Argentina's President Javier Milei plans to attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in January, a spokesperson for Milei confirmed Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the Trump transition team did not reply to a request for comment.
Milei, a Trump acolyte who was elected last year and describes himself as an "anarcho-capitalist," on Monday posted on X a link to a news report and wrote "Make Argentina Great Again Make America Great Again," adding a handshake emoji between U.S. and Argentine flag emojis.
Bloomberg News was first to report on Milei attending the inaugural, citing an Argentine government spokesperson.
Milei is the first world leader expected to be in Washington for the Jan. 20 event, though arrangements are underway for others to join. CBS News reported last week that Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom Trump personally invited to the inauguration, was unlikely to attend, according to multiple sources.
Trump confirmed Monday that he has exchanged letters with Xi and would "love to have him [at the inauguration], but there's been nothing much discussed" in terms of whether he'll accept the invite.
Trump added that he has fielded calls from more than 100 world leaders since winning the election and, initially when asked, he said that he had not invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, "if he'd like to come, I'd like to have him," Trump said.
State Department records dating back to 1874 show that no world leader has attended an American transfer-of-power ceremony. Traditionally, foreign ambassadors and their spouses represent their governments at the quadrennial event.
Milei met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago shortly after the November election.
