Trump’s Inauguration Invites

He is yet again underscoring what types of world leaders he likes.

Source: The White House

CBS News reports: Trump invites China’s Xi Jinping to inauguration.

In addition to Xi, the president-elect’s team has raised the possibility of hosting other leaders at the Capitol on Jan. 20. Hungary’s far-right leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has a warm relationship with Trump and visited him at Mar-a-Lago this week, is “still considering” whether to attend, according to a source familiar with Orbán’s plans. 

CNN adds:

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Argentinean President Javier Milei have also been invited by Trump or his team, sources confirmed to CNN. All three are close allies of Trump who have also shaken the nerves of the US and its allies at times for their embrace of strongman tactics and their far-right politics.

To my recollection, foreign heads of state do not typically attend the event, but I am open to correction on that point. First, what national leader wants to be an ornament at another leader’s swearing-in? Second, security and general logistics are already a big enough headache as it is. Adding in additional presidents and the like would increase that nightmare exponentially.

As such, it is unlikely that any of them will accept the invitation.

There is also the clear feeling one gets from all of this that Trump sees Inauguration Day as being about him, not a ceremony about the peaceful transfer of power or a celebration of the constitutional order. The silly inaugural balls are his parties. The big event is for the country, at least ideally (I recognize that it is impossible for many, myself included, Trump’s return to power). Still, the “won’t you please come to my party?” vibe is unpresidential (not that that is a shock).

But the real reason this drew my attention is the type of leader Trump is inviting: they are all strongmen and/or far-right types.

Xi is arguably the most authoritarian leader in the world in terms of scope and longevity.

Orbán has steered his country away from democracy toward illiberalism if not authoritarianism. He is a model for a lot of what Trump and his allies want for the US.

Bukele of El Salvador has been a hardliner in office, including sending troops against Congress and getting the Supreme Court to allow him to run for re-election despite a requirement that he sit out 10 years.

Milei of Argentina is harder to summarize. He is eccentric and has been willing to engage in draconian economic policies. He is more of a hardcore libertarian than anything else. At one point, he was compared to Trump because of the noted eccentricities.

Meloni of Italy is a member of a populist, right-wing party and is leading the most right-wing government in Italy since WWII.

So, we see an ongoing pattern with Trump. He likes authoritarians and hardliners. He continually tells us who he is and what he values.

And before someone suggests that I am saying that the US shouldn’t talk to everyone, that’s not the point. The point is that inviting specific persons to a celebratory event tells you a lot about the person doing the inviting.

FILED UNDER: 2024 Election, Asia, Europe, Latin America, US Politics, World Politics, , , , , , , , , , ,
Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a retired Professor of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. Kathy says:

    I have this notion that invites to heads of state to inaugurations were routine in many countries. And that these were routinely met with many thanks and regrets, and turned over to the figurehead of state or the current ambassador to attend.

    Apparently I was way off.

    2
  2. Slugger says:

    How about something that will appeal to Americans? We don’t care about the leaders of dipsh*t countries; we don’t even know where Hungary or Argentina are located. Let’s get the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders. Their home team hasn’t been that exciting, but I bet if they march down Pennsylvania Avenue and shake it real good, we’ll all be thrilled! Also, it would demonstrate a commitment to older women. Some of them are probably 26 or even more.

    9
  3. al Ameda says:

    Why not Mike Judge?
    Creator of Beavis and Butthead, and of the movie ‘Idiocracy’, an advance look at what the 2024 election is bringing to us.

    Another foreign official who should be invited
    is Tulsi Gabbard.

    8
  4. joe says:

    Other than Xi, there is nothing “hardline” or “authoritarian” about those other leaders. You just don’t like them because they are not Leftists and they oppose the craziness of open borders.

  5. Kingdaddy says:
  6. Michael Reynolds says:

    @joe:
    Human Rights Watch on Orban’s Hungary:

    The government continued its attacks on rule of law and democratic institutions in 2023. Teacher protests over work conditions and salaries that started in September 2022 culminated in a two-day strike in March, to which the government responded with a new law weakening teachers’ professional autonomy. Opposition members throughout the year tried to dismantle police cordons erected around the Prime Minister’s Office to obstruct media access that had been ruled unlawful by a court.

    The government extended the “state of danger” it originally declared in May 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, taking advantage of extraordinary powers to rule by decree and sidestep parliamentary process. Independent journalists and media outlets faced smear campaigns by public officials and pro-government media and obstacles in reporting, including in obtaining public records and meeting with ruling party politicians. Civil society organizations continued to be subjected to smear campaigns by government-aligned media and public officials.

    Discrimination and vilification of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and Roma persisted. Unlawful pushbacks of migrants and asylum seekers to Serbia continued, and access to the asylum procedure was close to impossible.

    The European Union withheld funds to Hungary due to its rule of law abuses and continued its scrutiny of Hungary under the article 7 mechanism designed to hold accountable governments that may be in breach of EU founding values.

    Just because you approve of an authoritarian does not alter the fact that he is authoritarian.

    5
  7. JohnSF says:

    @joe:
    There are plenty of leaders who are of the left, broadly, who do not approve of “open borders” in the slightest.
    See eg Sir Keir Starmer.

    The choices seem mainly to be based on who gets the love in right-discourse social media in the US. Which is often hilariously ignorant about the realities of the politics of other countries,

    5
  8. Michael Reynolds says:

    @joe:
    BTW, Democrats as a rule also do not approve of ‘open borders,’ as evidenced by the bi-partisan border bill that Trump killed so he could continue to stoke and exploit your anger.

    6
  9. Michael Reynolds says:

    I give Bukele a pass because the situation in Salvador was a crisis. Which, for the benefit of our idjit MAGAts is in no way analogous to our situation.

    2
  10. JohnSF says:

    @Kingdaddy:
    Meloni has made a rhetorical trope of “accepting” the fascist era as part of Italy’s past, and using the neofascist party structures/support as building blocks of her political strategy.
    But in practice, her government has been no more “hard right” than the Christian Democrats who ruled Italy from 1946 to 1994.
    And who themselves were quite prepared, more quietly, to cultivate and rehabilitate former fascists.

    Both domestically, and in intra-European politics, Meloni is a very different breed of cat than Orban, who is authoritarian, lavishly corrupt, and a royal pain in the arse.

    3
  11. Michael Reynolds says:

    @JohnSF:
    It’s hard to get too worked up about Italy’s government. I don’t think even a genuine fascist could get it to work effectively.

    3
  12. just nutha says:

    As such, it is unlikely that any of them will accept the invitation.

    Well there goes my plan: gather them all in one place and ta…

    Nope, not gonna go there. Wouldn’t be prudent.

    1
  13. JohnSF says:

    @Michael Reynolds:

    …get it to work effectively

    Au contraire.
    Its precisely because the Italian permanent government (the true legacy of the Christian Democrat ascendancy) is so effective, that it can put up with perpetual clown-car chaos that is Parliament and the Parties.
    That is why Meloni is rather smart, and effective: she is simply leaving the bureaucrats to get on with running the country, while the electeds vent steam.

    2
  14. joe says:

    @Michael Reynolds:

    No thinking person believes you. Leftists support open borders and one fake bill that was nothing more than an election year stunt doesn’t change that.

  15. joe says:

    @Michael Reynolds:

    This is just a repetition of the same name calling. It’s not “authoritarian” for a conservative leader to try to implement policy or appoint people who support him or her.

  16. JohnSF says:

    @joe:
    If you define “leftists” as “support open borders”, then obviously you will conclude that all “leftists” support “open borders”
    Similarly, if I define all “pieces of furniture” as “tables”, then I am currently sitting on a table, not in a chair.

    Logic fail, Joe.

    9
  17. Mister Bluster says:

    I wonder if joe supports convicted felon President Elect Donald Trump in his stated policy that “you can grab them by the pussy”?

    2
  18. Kathy says:

    @just nutha:

    Something like that was shown in a 90s series called Dark Skies. In this case it was Kennedy’s funeral, in the series attended by a lot of heads of state, where the aliens planned to kill them all in one place.

    I’ve no idea if any heads of state attended JFK’s funeral in actual history. I suppose some did. Anyway, I didn’t like the series one bit. it made everything in the 60s, from JFK’s assassination to the war in Vietnam, a cover for secret conspiracies to fight off an alien invasion.

    I found it to make no sense, and to give credence to all sort of crazy conspiracy theories.

  19. Michael Reynolds says:

    @joe:
    You believe nonsense because you need to believe nonsense. The facts are easy to find – easy to avoid, too, if you have a need to believe lies. The question is why you need to believe lies. Any idea?

    7
  20. Just nutha ignint cracker says:

    @Kathy: I just want to go on record that nowhere in my aborted statement did I say anything about “kill them all in one place” and am shocked (shocked, I say) that anyone would think that I would harbor such a plan.

    ETA: Didn’t watch Dark Skies, but your description of it reinforces my disdain for Alt History SF mashups.

  21. Scott F. says:

    @Michael Reynolds:

    The question is why you need to believe lies.

    Actually, it would be okay by me if joe’s need to believe lies ended with joe. But, @joe wants everyone to accept that all “thinking persons” believe the lies he needs to believe are true.

    So, if we’re posing questions to joe, my questions are:
    – why does joe expect anyone to believe he is a “thinking person” when all he has is assertions without evidence, plus name calling.
    – why does joe need us to believe him enough to post to OTB regularly only to be mocked for his ignorance and lack of substance

    There’s a pathology being demonstrated here that is… intriguing.

    6
  22. Gustopher says:

    security and general logistics are already a big enough headache as it is. Adding in additional presidents and the like would increase that nightmare exponentially.

    Maybe it’s like getting another cat — it’s easier than getting the first because you already have the litter box, and cat toys, and now they can play with other. A lot of the costs and logistics would already be in place.

    1
  23. Gustopher says:

    @al Ameda:

    the movie ‘Idiocracy’, an advance look at what the 2024 election is bringing to us.

    I despise that movie. It is pro-eugenics trash where the wrong people bred.

    At this point, though, it is so lodged into the discourse among a lot of people that I hope it gets a big budget remake by Michael Bay. Just destroy the movie forever.

    They could do a two pronged approach by fixing the eugenics problem in the remake — make the decline of society be based on people reposting and believing 4chan memes.

    1
  24. Mister Bluster says:

    A lot of the costs and logistics would already be in place.

    I suspect that whatever agency in Red China protects it’s leaders knows about the incident in Pennsylvania where god saved then candidate Trump from assassination (so he says). After that I can’t imagine that Chinese security would rely on the US Secret Service for protection. I’m certain that they would not rely on god.

  25. Gustopher says:

    As @joe spews various trash, and I am expecting Joe (with a dog in his avatar) to wander by and point out it’s not him, I’m wondering if this site should have a policy about near identical user names.

    I’m not saying the hosts should ban this joe, but a friendly suggestion, followed by a warning, followed by dumping him into the moderation queue forever — until he becomes “joseph”, “other joe”, “joe joe” or whatever.

    Or if Joe (with the dog) started posting after joe (no dog), then apply the same policy with regards to him.

    3
  26. Kathy says:

    @Gustopher:

    I don’t think it’s based officially in Kornbluth’s The Marching Morons, but it must have been a source of inspiration,as they share many features. One is that the stupid people outbred the smart people (though in Kornbluth’s story there’s an elite of smart people who run the world). And someone from the past influences the present of the story.

    It gets worse, as (SPOILER ALERT), Marching Morons ends with mass exterminations. The man who came up with the idea for that gets killed along with the morons. IMO, that was Kornbluth trying to whitewash his own story.

    I thought the movie was pretty good otherwise, in a satirical kind of way.

    Besides, the GQP would do well to look for someone like President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho to lead their party. it would be a huge improvement over their last two occupants of the oval office. He wasn’t very bright, true, but he was a good man, and knew when to consult with those smarter than himself.

  27. Matt Bernius says:

    @joe:

    Other than Xi, there is nothing “hardline” or “authoritarian” about those other leaders.

    Other than the assassination, how was the play Mrs Lincoln?

    I mean I guess you are saying that two out of three isn’t that bad.

    7
  28. Michael Reynolds says:

    Trump’s disappointed that Assad can’t make it.

    4
  29. JohnSF says:

    @Michael Reynolds:
    Not as much as Assad is.

    Say, anyone thought of inviting Khameini, for the lulz?

    3
  30. Michael Reynolds says:

    @JohnSF:

    Say, anyone thought of inviting Khameini, for the lulz?

    He’s having a bad week. The Ayatollah could use a break.

    2
  31. Michael Reynolds says:

    @JohnSF:
    Did you see this?

    This could all turn to shit, but sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof, and also the small moments of grace thereof.

    1
  32. Tony W says:

    I pray for heavy, unrelenting, torrential rain that day in DC.

  33. Joe says:

    @Gustopher: Was busy IRL yesterday, but thanks for the acknowledgement. Perhaps it’s my own damn fault for having such a vanilla handle.

  34. @Michael Reynolds: For the record, I give Bukele no pass.

  35. @joe: I detailed the problems with each. If you don’t think Orbán is authoritarian, btw, that just says a lot about you.

    And the issue isn’t just that he invited these people, but also who he didn’t invite.

    Also: note what I said about the way he is treating the event. It is all about him.

    1
  36. Jax says:

    @Joe: I always think of you as “Good Joe”, and he is bad joe, no caps. 😉

    2
  37. Matt says:

    @Joe: I had the same thought when Bernius first started posting here as Matt too..

    Originally I was just trying to keep my name simple and unrevealing of who I might be.

  38. Matt Bernius says:

    @Matt:
    FWIW, I have done my best never to post without my last name either… I think before I might have been doing it as “Matt B” (I started here around 2008–I’ve never gone back to those posts).

    I admit I get confused when occasionally I see someone posting “Matt said this…” and I cannot for the life of me remember writing that.

    1
  39. The Q says:

    How do you think I feel? I’ve used this moniker for decades, only to be conflated with the Qanon morons.

    FYI the Q refers to the German word Quelle – the source.

  40. Matt says:

    @Matt Bernius:
    I’ve been posting randomly here since the very early days. Not sure what name I used at first before sticking to this one. I am pretty sure I was using Matt B when you popped up. I remember you posting randomly one day with the same name and then changing to your current. Memory is a fickle thing though so :shrug:

  41. Matt Bernius says:

    @Matt:
    It is a very fickle thing and I had no idea you were also a “Matt B” too!

    Ultimately, I personally find I behave better when I post under my full name. Hence the switch.