Xi invited to Trump's inauguration

Alan Cai

December 13, 2024

Yesterday, incoming Press Secretary for the Trump administration Karoline Leavitt (who would soon become the youngest Press Secretary in history) confirmed on Fox News that President-elect Donald Trump had invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to his inauguration. The invitation is nothing short of unprecedented, as no foreign leader had attended a US inauguration since at least 1874 when the Department of State began keeping such records (https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/visits).

As with many other revelations associated with the incoming administration, Xi’s invitation strays from centuries of American custom. Presidential inaugurations signal the peaceful transition of power and are traditions sacred to our nation’s people. The presence of a foreign leader sends the wrong message to democracies around the world — that transitions of power are diplomatic and television spectacles rather than authentic opportunities for a country to come together after bitter divisions.

While Xi’s invitation may be an attempt for Trump to thaw relations with perhaps his most complex foreign adversary, especially following persistent anti-China rhetoric and tariff threats, his gesture may not be entirely out of goodwill. Trump’s rekindling of relations with the Chinese leader may be an attempt to further assert dominance over his Chinese counterpart. A Chinese leader looking on as an American leader makes his victory speech (which will almost certainly include explicit or implicit jabs at China) would render the former to appear weak and inferior. Additionally, were Xi to sit directly behind Trump, flanked by a team of bodyguards, the optics of the inauguration would become unnecessarily awkward at best. Were Xi to sit in any other position behind Trump’s family or members of Congress, the arrangement would seem belittling to the powerful foreign head of state. Since Xi’s attendance would benefit neither himself nor Trump, the invitation was likely not intended to be accepted.

In addition to Xi, far-right Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was reportedly also extended an invitation by the Trump transition team to attend the inauguration. Given Trump’s close ties with Orbán, who recently met with Putin and proposed a Christmas Ceasefire — which Kyiv rejected —, it is likely that the Hungarian invitation was more sincere rather than theatrical. Trump shares many of Orbán’s views, including possible bias toward Russia, and has much closer relations with him than with Xi.

While it is still unclear which other foreign leaders were invited to Trump’s inauguration, the recent news serves as a confirmation of the philosophy of the second Trump administration: personal overtures matter far more than diplomatic poise.