In less than a week, President-elect Donald Trump resumes charge of the United States once again. Trump being Trump, his second innings is largely being interpreted as the one where he’ll reward his allies, get even with his adversaries, settle the scores, start a few new chapters and set the record straight on old ones. Starting right from the guest-list for his swearing in ceremony, which is being interpreted as a preface to his foreign policy priorities.
Who’s invited, who’s not, who’s accepted and who’s not? Unsurprisingly, since a fortnight now, the media houses and social media platforms have been obsessing over the list of invitees for the Inauguration Day on January 20.
Back in India, a cross-section of those politically invested have been wondering why a direct or personal invitation has not been extended to PM Modi. It’s a development that was duly noted by New Delhi, prompting a rushed and unscheduled week-long trip to Washington by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
On Sunday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs, put to rest some of the speculations, by announcing that, “On the Invitation of the Trump Vance Inaugural Committee, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will represent the Government of India at the swearing-in ceremony of President-elect Donald J Trump.”
The statement did not put to rest the speculations to do with what led to Modi being dropped from Trump’s A Team.
A far cry from their once cosy chemistry where Modi even rallied with “Abki Baar Trump Sarkar,” in 2020 at an event in Houston.
While India’s exit from Washington’s first circle is being jeered by Modi critics and opposition parties back home, political analysts believe the reasons run deeper; from alleged RAW agents’ hit jobs on foreign soil to India’s stance on Russia.
Xi Jinping not attending but…
Interestingly, President Xi Jinping is widely believed to be among the first list of invitees, thereby making China as the first foreign government to be invited. The invite reflects the significance of Indo-China relations to Trump and his intention to keep open lines of communication despite issues like trade tensions, Taiwan and other military concerns standing between them.
While Jinping has opted not to attend, China’s decision to participate through Vice President Han Zheng or Foreign Minister Wang Yi is acknowledgement of Beijing’s openness to the olive branch, in case it is extended, even as it braces up for turbulence with the Trump administration.
Three tech moguls to be seated together?
Other A-listers include Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Argentina’s Javier Milei, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, and interestingly, three influential tech moguls Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are speculated to be seated together.
While Musk went above and beyond in supporting Trump for the Presidential election, both Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg each donated $1 million to the Trump inaugural fund and visited the president-elect at his Mar-a-Lago home. They have been seated on the viewing stand steps from where the Chief Justice will administer the oath of office to the President-elect.
Netanyahu was not invited…
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s attendance has been an open-ended sentence for some time now even though several Israeli media outlets have reported that Netanyahu might or might not attend. Reportedly, he has not been formally invited.
It is unclear if he has been informally asked to attend. Netanyahu’s medical troubles and an arrest warrant issued by the International Court of Justice in November for war crimes in Gaza have further made his attendance highly unlikely.
Interestingly, in the run up to the inauguration, Trump has shared a video on his Truth Social account which included an American professor abusing Netanyahu for trying to make the US go to war with Iran.
Moving on, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also been left off the list despite known to be vying for a ticket. In alignment with Trump’s plan to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican imports if the country does not take action against illegal immigration and drugs pouring into the US, Trump has also skipped inviting the Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
The guest-list defies tradition
In a move that is being lauded as bold and belittled as desperate, Trump has defied tradition by inviting a slew of his favourite global leaders. Once he assumes charge, Trump, a hardcore Republican, is believed to be impatient enough to execute most of his threats and claims on his first day in office.
He has pledged to sign a flurry of executive orders on wide-ranging issues from border security to oil and gas production to immigration policies. Those invited to those uninvited are bracing up for an unpredictable ride ahead.
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