Argentine President Javier Milei has accepted President-elect Donald Trump's invitation to attend the Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony and reportedly will be flying in for the event. The libertarian Latin America leader is known as the “Donald Trump of Argentina” by his conservative and populist MAGA fans. Milei electrified his ideological followers around the world when he delivered a stunning denunciation of globalism at the World Economic Forum conference at Davos in 2024.
Milei and Trump appreciate each other’s political battles and have forged a friendship over the past couple of years. The president-elect personally extended an invitation to the Argentinian leader, The New York Post reported, based on an article in Argentina’s La Nacion.
“The world leaders are calling me, and some really would like to meet,” the president-elect insisted while talking to reporters Monday at Mar-a-Lago.
“I think it’s rude not to, I mean, it’s hard to say I’m not going to see you, and I’ve spoken to way over 100 where they called to congratulate on the — not only the election, but the size of the election, the extent of the victory,” he continued.
“I spoke to over 100 countries,” Trump said. “And I’m trying with the best I can to get back to everybody. But there are a lot of countries, and every one of them, literally everyone called, and it was very nice. So, yeah, I’d see some if some felt it was an emergency.” Trump sent his best wishes to Milei when he won the presidential election.
"Congratulations to Javier Milei on a great race for President of Argentina," Trump wrote on his very active Truth Social account. "The whole world was watching! I am very proud of you. You will turn your Country around and truly Make Argentina Great Again!" Tucker Carlson interviewed Milei and referred to him as the “Donald Trump of Argentina.”
Trump has also invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend the inauguration but he has reportedly turned down the invitation, according to The Post. “I would say that if he’d like to come, I’d love to have him, but there’s been nothing much discussed,” Trump said at the Mar-a-Lago news conference. “I have had discussions with him, letters, et cetera, et cetera, at a very high level. You know, we had a very good relationship until COVID[-19].”
Another conservative political leader who is expected to attend is Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whom Trump likes to describe as “a real live wire,” according to CNN. Meloni recently gave Milei honorary Italian citizenship. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has also been invited, the outlet noted.
