Today at 12 PM Washington time (6 PM Central European Time), Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. Many European politicians will be closely listening to his inaugural address, and some of his political allies will attend the ceremony in person.
Trump's statements made after his victory in the November 5 elections have raised concerns in Europe regarding how quickly NATO member countries' contributions will increase and how swiftly and at what cost a peace agreement regarding the conflict in Ukraine can be reached, as well as the threat of rising tariffs.
Later, Trump surprised Europeans again by announcing his desire to purchase Greenland, a Danish territory, while not ruling out the possibility of using force.
Although heads of state and government are traditionally not included in the guest list for the inauguration of American presidents, this time several exceptions were made: the presidents of Argentina, Javier Milei, and Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, will be present at the ceremony. Chinese President Xi Jinping was also invited, but he will be represented by Vice President Han Zheng.
Among the leaders of European countries, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who recently visited Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, received an invitation. Many prominent right-wing and far-right politicians have confirmed their attendance at the inauguration. They include former Polish Prime Minister and ECR President Mateusz Morawiecki, leader of the Belgian party Vlaams Belang Tom Van Grieken, leader of the nationalist French party Reconquête Éric Zemmour, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Tino Chrupalla, president of the Spanish party Vox Santiago Abascal, and leader of the far-right party Reform UK Nigel Farage.
Euronews has also confirmed that 13 MEPs from the "Patriots," ECR, and "Europe of Sovereign Nations," including MEPs from Spanish VOX, Hungarian Fidesz, French National Rally, German Alternative for Germany, Italian Brothers of Italy, and the National Union "All for Latvia!" will be present at the inauguration.
One of Trump's closest allies in Europe, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was not invited.
It is expected that 200,000 people will arrive in Washington for the ceremony.
The inauguration day of American presidents consists of several official stages: from a service at St. John's Church in Lafayette Square, the historic church of Washington, to three inaugural balls throughout the city, where the new president is expected to perform.
A musical performance will take place on the main stage of the event at the U.S. Capitol before Donald Trump and elected Vice President J.D. Vance take the oath, as well as the inaugural speech of the 47th president of the United States.