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| Donald Trump and Georgia Meloni. Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida, United States, January 4, 2025 | Photo: Reuters |
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will attend the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday (January 20), officials from Meloni's office announced the decision on Friday.
Earlier this month, Meloni met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. After the meeting, Trump praised Meloni, calling her "a wonderful woman."
It was therefore expected that Meloni would attend Trump's inauguration, thereby further strengthening the relationship between the Italian conservative leader and Trump.
World leaders do not usually attend US presidential inaugurations, but instead send diplomats to represent them. But Trump broke with tradition by inviting several world leaders to his inauguration.
In addition to Meloni, Argentine President Javier Miel has also confirmed his attendance at Trump's inauguration, according to various media reports. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was also invited. But last week, a spokesman for him said he would not attend Trump's inauguration. Meloni, Javier, and Viktor Orban are known to be Trump supporters.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was also invited to Trump's inauguration on January 20. He is also not going. But he is sending an envoy.
Meloni's supporters hope that her relationship with Trump will grow over the next four years and that she will play a role in keeping the relationship between the United States and Europe dynamic.