Donald Trump has reportedly not invited Sir Keir Starmer to his inauguration ceremony, despite allowing other world leaders to attend in a significant break from tradition.
According to tech billionaire Elon Musk, the Prime Minister has been snubbed after he “sent operatives to America to undermine the US election”.
Mr Trump’s swearing-in ceremony will take place on January 20 and could feature the likes of Italian prime minister Georgia Meloni, Argentinian president Javier Milei, Hungarian president Viktor Orban, and Chinese president Xi Jinping.
This breaks a centuries-long tradition as historically, world leaders never attend the US presidential inauguration. Instead, diplomats and representative tend to be sent.
Mr Trump responded to concerns that breaking the precedent was “risky”, defending his decision by saying he “likes to take little chances”.
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The Republican said: “Some people said, ‘Wow, that’s a little risky, isn’t it?’ And I said, ‘Maybe it is. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens’. But we like to take little chances.”
Despite extending the invitation to a handful of right-leaning world leaders, it’s unlikely that most of them will actually be there. So far, Mr Xi has declined and will instead send a representative, and Ms Meloni has not confirmed her attendance.
Mr Milei is however believed to be going after after Mr Trump called him his “favourite president” and praised his “fantastic work” as Argentinian leader.
Reform UK confirmed on Tuesday that its leader, Nigel Farage, will also attend the inauguration. He also expected to meet up with Mr Musk at “the biggest inauguration party” he’s hosting in Washington DC, according to The Independent.
The Reform leader told LBC that he’ll be in the US for four or five days over Mr Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, putting his differences with Mr Musk aside.
He said: “I’ve been a friend of Donald Trump’s for a decade. I’ve been very supportive of him, he’s been very supportive of me. I can’t see that changing for a moment.”
The Government has not yet confirmed who it will be sending, though it’s expected to be the ambassador to the US, Karen Pierce. This would be her last US presidential inauguration before Lord Peter Mandelson takes over early next year.
