CNN
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Donald Trump, eager to turn his inauguration into a global event, is personally extending invitations to some foreign leaders, including heads of state that have clashed with the United States in the recent past.
Already, Trump has asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his swearing in, his transition team confirmed Thursday, an exceptionally rare offer extended to the communist leader of one of America’s chief geopolitical rivals.
“This is an example of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just allies but our adversaries and our competitors, too,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said during an appearance Thursday on Fox News.
A delegation of senior Chinese officials is expected to attend in place of Xi, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
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.
The offers to attend his Washington fêting have been mostly informal, a person with knowledge of the conversations told CNN, and have sometimes come in passing during discussions over the phone about other matters. The person also said that some invitations have gone through back channels, not directly leader-to-leader.
Trump has also dictated written invitations as well, a source familiar with the matter said, and had his team send them to foreign leaders.
Trump’s transition team did not respond to questions about what other leaders he invited. On Thursday, the president-elect suggested he may invite other foreign leaders people told him may be “a little risky.”
“We like to take little chances,” Trump said. “But that’s not a bad chance.”
A new diplomatic era for America
It is up to the president-elect and his team to determine which guests attend his inauguration, including any world leaders they may invite, one source familiar with the process told CNN. Generally, the bipartisan Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and the State Department will reach out to diplomats to attend. The JCCIC has already begun sending invitations to every country’s chief of mission, as part of its typical protocol.
It’s rare, however, for heads of state to make international visits to Washington for an inauguration, and it’s up to the discretion of the incoming president to make such asks, the source said.
The outreach beyond America’s closest Western allies signals a new diplomatic era for the United States. In an interview with Time conducted in late November and published Thursday, Trump touched on his existing relationships with authoritarian leaders like North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin – though he declined to say if he has spoken with Putin since winning in November.
“I get along with Russia,” Trump told the news magazine, which also named him “Person of the Year” on Thursday. “I get along with a lot of people that people would think I wouldn’t get along with.”
The invites to world leaders also speak to Trump’s early interest in reengaging with his foreign peers four years after he left Washington, DC, and the world stage defeated and diminished.
In the weeks since completing his political comeback, Trump has spoken with leaders from around the globe and hosted several at his Palm Beach, Florida, club. On social media, he has already engaged in global affairs, threatening Mexico and Canada with 25% tariffs and calling for a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. Trump told Time magazine he opposed a new US policy allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russia.
Trump also has an overseas trip under his belt: a visit to the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, an appearance that came at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump returned enamored by the pageantry – and also the high-profile attendance.
While there, he also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the United Kingdom’s Prince William and Meloni.
“It was something really beautiful,” Trump said Thursday. “And a lot of world leaders, there were about 80 world leaders, different countries, and they were all coming together.”
Trump’s desire for a ‘global stage’ in DC
Now, he is looking to turn his inauguration into a similar must-attend affair.
“Trump is very eager to have world leaders at the inauguration,” one Trump adviser told CNN. “He wants a global stage.”
However, the freewheeling nature of Trump’s invites has made it difficult for even his closest aides to keep track of everyone who has and has not received an invitation to his second inauguration.
It also poses additional security challenges for the United States Secret Service, which is mandated to protect all heads of state when they are on US soil. The US Capital Police is already tasked with protecting that day an incoming president who survived two assassination attempts over the summer, as well as the leaders of Congress, the Supreme Court, outgoing President Joe Biden and whichever past presidents attend.
Xi is not expected, but it is not entirely clear yet which leaders intend to take Trump up on his offer.
Bukele’s office confirmed receiving an invitation on behalf of Trump, however, it is unclear if the Salvadorian president plans on attending.
In a recent interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Trump shared that he and Xi had communicated regularly since his election, even as he continues to threaten to launch a broad trade war with China after taking office. Asked earlier Thursday while on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange whether Xi had accepted his invitation, Trump said, “I don’t want to say,” and added that the two leaders had a “very good relationship.”
“I’ve invited a lot of great people, and they’ve all accepted,” Trump said. “Everybody I’ve invited has accepted.”
CNN’s David Culver and Kayla Tausche contributed to this report.