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Monday, January 20, 2025 9:37:20 AM
Trump inauguration: Justin Trudeau is out, Elon Musk is in. Here’s what we know about the guest list so far
Former presidents, billionaires and a laundry list of right-wing foreign leaders are expected at Donald Trump’s presidential election.
Updated 22 mins ago
Jan. 20, 2025
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, shown here in a November file photo, will be inaugurate on Monday.
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU AFP via Getty Images
By Kevin JiangStaff Reporter
With incoming U.S. president Donald Trump’s inauguration less than 24 hours away, much may be gleaned about the upcoming administration by who’s on the guest list, who isn’t — and who declined to take part.
Ahead of the cold weather expected on Monday, Trump has directed most of the outdoor events to be moved indoors. Ahead of the inauguration, officials held a rehearsal Sunday in the U.S. Capitol’s Rotunda, which holds 600 people, compared to the 250,000-plus guests who had tickets to view Trump swearing-in on Capitol grounds. It’s unclear at this point who made the cut.
From what we know so far, the ceremony on Monday is set to be attended by former presidents, government officials, tech billionaires and a smattering of far-right leaders including Argentinian President Javier Milei and U.K. politician Nigel Farage.
Notably, former first lady Michelle Obama will be skipping the ceremony, according to her office. Her husband, former president Barack Obama, has confirmed his attendance.
Take a look at who’s on the guest list.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the presidential election to Trump, will be in attendance, as will their spouses Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff, respectively. That’s in contrast to Biden’s own inauguration four years ago, which saw Trump and wife Melania skip the ceremony.
Former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will also be there. Former first ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 election to Trump, have confirmed their attendance.
The three former presidents and their wives, including the late Jimmy Carter, also attended Trump’s 2017 inauguration.
Michelle Obama did not provide an explanation for her absence. She also skipped Carter’s state funeral last week.
The former first lady campaigned for Harris during her 2024 presidential run, arguing that women’s lives would be at risk should Trump return to office. In her 2018 memoir, she recalled her shock on learning Trump would be succeeding her husband, and her disgust at Trump’s questioning of Barack’s citizenship.
Canadian leaders
Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, will sit the event out. He and his cabinet will be busy at a retreat on inauguration day in preparation for Trump’s threatened 25 per cent tariffs, which the president-elect promised would begin that very day.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who visited Trump in Mar-a-Lago last week, will not attend his inauguration due to bitter cold weather forecasted for tomorrow in Washington, D.C.
Smith, who is spending five days in Washington on a diplomatic trip, was scheduled to attend the event, but her press secretary, Sam Blackett, said in a statement that most ticketed guests will no longer be able to attend the ceremony in-person because it’s being moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda, and that includes Smith.
The premier caused some controversy last week after refusing to sign off on a joint statement with other premiers and Trudeau that said every countermeasure was on the table to push back any proposed duties.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said he will likely be spending the inauguration at the Canadian embassy in Washington also due to the cold. He is among the Canadian leaders who criticized Trump’s comments about making Canada the 51st state and using “economic force.”
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, whose province is an oil producer, was expected to attend but has not announced whether he will also have to sit out the event due to the weather.
He has said Canada should make sure the U.S. is aware of its critical reliance on Canadian energy but not pull back on those exports just yet.
Other Canadian leaders have said they are heading to Washington to attend an inauguration day reception hosted by Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman.
Trade Minister Mary Ng is expected to attend and has also spent the past year connecting with Americans to promote the Canada-U.S. relationship. Last week, Ng was in New Jersey and New York where she met with business leaders and state government officials.
Ontario Energy Minister Stephen Lecce and Trade Minister Vic Fedeli will likely be headed to D.C. with Premier Doug Ford’s “Fortress Am-Can” proposal in hand. Ontario’s strategy to counter Trump’s tariff threat has been pushing for a deeper relationship between Ontario and the United States, particularly around energy security. Ontario officials estimate the tariffs could cost up to half a million jobs. Ford is not expected to attend.
Liberal MP John McKay, who is co-chair of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group, is attending. He has met many American legislators over the years. McKay has been an MP since 1997 and has said he won’t run for office again.
World leaders invited or in attendance
No world leaders have attended a U.S. presidential inauguration since 1874. That’s expected to change on Monday.
Trump has reportedly invited numerous right-leaning world leaders to the ceremony, including Argentina’s Milei, who said last month he expects to attend. He was also the first foreign leader to meet with Trump after his recent election victory.
Milei was scheduled to attend three inaugural galas over the weekend and one of the official inaugural balls that Trump will attend on inauguration day. He is also expected to be at the swearing-in ceremony.
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni also got an invite; her weekly agenda says she will attend the swearing-in ceremony on Monday. Meloni kept unexpectedly good relations with Biden but is likely to form a more natural alliance with Trump.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was the first foreign leader whose invitation to the inauguration became public last month. Xi will not attend but is sending Vice President Han Zheng in his place.
The announcement to send Han was made on Friday by the country’s foreign ministry, and it comes as the rivalry between the U.S. and China may escalate under Trump. Several of Trump’s Cabinet picks are known China hawks, including Rubio, who has called China “the most potent, dangerous and near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted.” Trump has vowed to impose tariffs and other measures on China.
Despite this, the two leaders spoke on the phone on Friday and discussed trade, fentanyl and TikTok. Trump said the call was a “very good one.”
Vice President-Elect JD Vance greeted Han on Sunday who welcomed his soon-to-be counterpart to the United States and the inauguration.
Hungary’s Viktor Orban was invited as well; his press secretary recently announced he will not be attendance.
Brazil’s indicted former president Jair Bolsonaro revealed he too received an invitation. He’s been barred from leaving the country due to an ongoing investigation, but has requested the return of his passport to attend the inauguration.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele was invited, the nation’s U.S. ambassador revealed. It’s unclear whether he will be in attendance.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was not invited, his office confirmed Thursday though Nigel Farage of the Reform UK party did receive an invite and is expected to attend.
Pro-Western Former Georgia President Salome Zourabichvili is expected to attend the ceremony as a guest of U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson.
Eric Zemmour, a conservative French politician, and his partner, Sarah Knafo, a member of the European Parliament, said they would attend the inauguration.
Marion Maréchal, a member of the European Parliament and niece of the leading conservative figure in France eyeing the 2027 presidential election, said in a statement that she would also be in attendance on Monday.
President of France, Emmanuel Macron, who met with Trump last month in Paris during the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral, won’t be at Trump’s inauguration.
Both the offices of Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa and Paraguayan President Santiago Peña have said they were invited and planned to attend the inauguration.
Taiwan sent legislative speaker Han Kuo-yu and seven others to Washington for Trump’s inauguration, but Taiwan’s foreign ministry said its delegates would not attend the ceremony now that it has been moved indoors.
Taiwan’s official Central News Agency, citing Taiwan’s foreign ministry, also reported that the delegates would meet American politicians and think tank scholars to cement Taiwan-U.S. relations, but It’s unclear if they will meet Trump.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Vladimir Putin did not receive an invitation, Kremlin sources said. Neither did Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, despite saying he wished to attend.
Billionaires and celebrities on the guest list
A laundry list of America’s most wealthy have confirmed their attendance at the swearing-in ceremony.
These include Tesla CEO and major Trump donor Elon Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The three will reportedly be seated together on the inauguration platform, beside Trump’s cabinet.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also confirmed his attendance.
Meta and Amazon have each pledged to donate $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. Altman has personally given $1 million to the fund, after previously donating to Biden’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Bloomberg reports Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will be present at the surrounding festivities. Coinbase Global Inc. CEO Brian Armstrong also received an invite to the event, the company said.
The New York Times is also reporting that TikTok CEO Shou Chew will be at the ceremony after receiving an invitation from Trump, one day after a ban on the popular video app goes into effect in the U.S. (Trump previously supported the ban but has since changed his position.)
Meanwhile, Carrie Underwood will perform “America the Beautiful” at the inauguration. The Village People, who were behind Trump’s beloved hit “Y.M.C.A.,” will perform at multiple pre-inauguration events, the band said on Facebook.
Two of Trump’s favourite artists, country singer Lee Greenwood and opera singer Christopher Macchio, will also perform at the ceremony, while artists Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus, Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross and Rascal Flatts are set to appear at events across the four days of festivities.
With files from The Canadian Press, the Associated Press, Nathan Bawaan, Kristjan Lautens, and Aliyah Marko
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/united-states/trump-inauguration-justin-trudeau-is-out-elon-musk-is-in-heres-what-we-know-about/article_acce86b8-d367-11ef-8bf7-f3e66c1c5833.html
Former presidents, billionaires and a laundry list of right-wing foreign leaders are expected at Donald Trump’s presidential election.
Updated 22 mins ago
Jan. 20, 2025
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, shown here in a November file photo, will be inaugurate on Monday.
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU AFP via Getty Images
By Kevin JiangStaff Reporter
With incoming U.S. president Donald Trump’s inauguration less than 24 hours away, much may be gleaned about the upcoming administration by who’s on the guest list, who isn’t — and who declined to take part.
Ahead of the cold weather expected on Monday, Trump has directed most of the outdoor events to be moved indoors. Ahead of the inauguration, officials held a rehearsal Sunday in the U.S. Capitol’s Rotunda, which holds 600 people, compared to the 250,000-plus guests who had tickets to view Trump swearing-in on Capitol grounds. It’s unclear at this point who made the cut.
From what we know so far, the ceremony on Monday is set to be attended by former presidents, government officials, tech billionaires and a smattering of far-right leaders including Argentinian President Javier Milei and U.K. politician Nigel Farage.
Notably, former first lady Michelle Obama will be skipping the ceremony, according to her office. Her husband, former president Barack Obama, has confirmed his attendance.
Take a look at who’s on the guest list.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the presidential election to Trump, will be in attendance, as will their spouses Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff, respectively. That’s in contrast to Biden’s own inauguration four years ago, which saw Trump and wife Melania skip the ceremony.
Former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will also be there. Former first ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 election to Trump, have confirmed their attendance.
The three former presidents and their wives, including the late Jimmy Carter, also attended Trump’s 2017 inauguration.
Michelle Obama did not provide an explanation for her absence. She also skipped Carter’s state funeral last week.
The former first lady campaigned for Harris during her 2024 presidential run, arguing that women’s lives would be at risk should Trump return to office. In her 2018 memoir, she recalled her shock on learning Trump would be succeeding her husband, and her disgust at Trump’s questioning of Barack’s citizenship.
Canadian leaders
Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, will sit the event out. He and his cabinet will be busy at a retreat on inauguration day in preparation for Trump’s threatened 25 per cent tariffs, which the president-elect promised would begin that very day.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who visited Trump in Mar-a-Lago last week, will not attend his inauguration due to bitter cold weather forecasted for tomorrow in Washington, D.C.
Smith, who is spending five days in Washington on a diplomatic trip, was scheduled to attend the event, but her press secretary, Sam Blackett, said in a statement that most ticketed guests will no longer be able to attend the ceremony in-person because it’s being moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda, and that includes Smith.
The premier caused some controversy last week after refusing to sign off on a joint statement with other premiers and Trudeau that said every countermeasure was on the table to push back any proposed duties.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said he will likely be spending the inauguration at the Canadian embassy in Washington also due to the cold. He is among the Canadian leaders who criticized Trump’s comments about making Canada the 51st state and using “economic force.”
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, whose province is an oil producer, was expected to attend but has not announced whether he will also have to sit out the event due to the weather.
He has said Canada should make sure the U.S. is aware of its critical reliance on Canadian energy but not pull back on those exports just yet.
Other Canadian leaders have said they are heading to Washington to attend an inauguration day reception hosted by Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman.
Trade Minister Mary Ng is expected to attend and has also spent the past year connecting with Americans to promote the Canada-U.S. relationship. Last week, Ng was in New Jersey and New York where she met with business leaders and state government officials.
Ontario Energy Minister Stephen Lecce and Trade Minister Vic Fedeli will likely be headed to D.C. with Premier Doug Ford’s “Fortress Am-Can” proposal in hand. Ontario’s strategy to counter Trump’s tariff threat has been pushing for a deeper relationship between Ontario and the United States, particularly around energy security. Ontario officials estimate the tariffs could cost up to half a million jobs. Ford is not expected to attend.
Liberal MP John McKay, who is co-chair of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group, is attending. He has met many American legislators over the years. McKay has been an MP since 1997 and has said he won’t run for office again.
World leaders invited or in attendance
No world leaders have attended a U.S. presidential inauguration since 1874. That’s expected to change on Monday.
Trump has reportedly invited numerous right-leaning world leaders to the ceremony, including Argentina’s Milei, who said last month he expects to attend. He was also the first foreign leader to meet with Trump after his recent election victory.
Milei was scheduled to attend three inaugural galas over the weekend and one of the official inaugural balls that Trump will attend on inauguration day. He is also expected to be at the swearing-in ceremony.
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni also got an invite; her weekly agenda says she will attend the swearing-in ceremony on Monday. Meloni kept unexpectedly good relations with Biden but is likely to form a more natural alliance with Trump.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was the first foreign leader whose invitation to the inauguration became public last month. Xi will not attend but is sending Vice President Han Zheng in his place.
The announcement to send Han was made on Friday by the country’s foreign ministry, and it comes as the rivalry between the U.S. and China may escalate under Trump. Several of Trump’s Cabinet picks are known China hawks, including Rubio, who has called China “the most potent, dangerous and near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted.” Trump has vowed to impose tariffs and other measures on China.
Despite this, the two leaders spoke on the phone on Friday and discussed trade, fentanyl and TikTok. Trump said the call was a “very good one.”
Vice President-Elect JD Vance greeted Han on Sunday who welcomed his soon-to-be counterpart to the United States and the inauguration.
Hungary’s Viktor Orban was invited as well; his press secretary recently announced he will not be attendance.
Brazil’s indicted former president Jair Bolsonaro revealed he too received an invitation. He’s been barred from leaving the country due to an ongoing investigation, but has requested the return of his passport to attend the inauguration.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele was invited, the nation’s U.S. ambassador revealed. It’s unclear whether he will be in attendance.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was not invited, his office confirmed Thursday though Nigel Farage of the Reform UK party did receive an invite and is expected to attend.
Pro-Western Former Georgia President Salome Zourabichvili is expected to attend the ceremony as a guest of U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson.
Eric Zemmour, a conservative French politician, and his partner, Sarah Knafo, a member of the European Parliament, said they would attend the inauguration.
Marion Maréchal, a member of the European Parliament and niece of the leading conservative figure in France eyeing the 2027 presidential election, said in a statement that she would also be in attendance on Monday.
President of France, Emmanuel Macron, who met with Trump last month in Paris during the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral, won’t be at Trump’s inauguration.
Both the offices of Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa and Paraguayan President Santiago Peña have said they were invited and planned to attend the inauguration.
Taiwan sent legislative speaker Han Kuo-yu and seven others to Washington for Trump’s inauguration, but Taiwan’s foreign ministry said its delegates would not attend the ceremony now that it has been moved indoors.
Taiwan’s official Central News Agency, citing Taiwan’s foreign ministry, also reported that the delegates would meet American politicians and think tank scholars to cement Taiwan-U.S. relations, but It’s unclear if they will meet Trump.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Vladimir Putin did not receive an invitation, Kremlin sources said. Neither did Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, despite saying he wished to attend.
Billionaires and celebrities on the guest list
A laundry list of America’s most wealthy have confirmed their attendance at the swearing-in ceremony.
These include Tesla CEO and major Trump donor Elon Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The three will reportedly be seated together on the inauguration platform, beside Trump’s cabinet.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also confirmed his attendance.
Meta and Amazon have each pledged to donate $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. Altman has personally given $1 million to the fund, after previously donating to Biden’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Bloomberg reports Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will be present at the surrounding festivities. Coinbase Global Inc. CEO Brian Armstrong also received an invite to the event, the company said.
The New York Times is also reporting that TikTok CEO Shou Chew will be at the ceremony after receiving an invitation from Trump, one day after a ban on the popular video app goes into effect in the U.S. (Trump previously supported the ban but has since changed his position.)
Meanwhile, Carrie Underwood will perform “America the Beautiful” at the inauguration. The Village People, who were behind Trump’s beloved hit “Y.M.C.A.,” will perform at multiple pre-inauguration events, the band said on Facebook.
Two of Trump’s favourite artists, country singer Lee Greenwood and opera singer Christopher Macchio, will also perform at the ceremony, while artists Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus, Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross and Rascal Flatts are set to appear at events across the four days of festivities.
With files from The Canadian Press, the Associated Press, Nathan Bawaan, Kristjan Lautens, and Aliyah Marko
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/united-states/trump-inauguration-justin-trudeau-is-out-elon-musk-is-in-heres-what-we-know-about/article_acce86b8-d367-11ef-8bf7-f3e66c1c5833.html
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