Is it unusual that U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was not invited to President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration? No, that's missing context: A social media post's assertion that usually the British prime minister "would be the first name on the list" is untrue. Traditionally, foreign leaders were not invited to U.S. presidential inaugurations, a presidential historian told Lead Stories.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X on January 13, 2025. It said:
🚨🇬🇧🇺🇸Breaking: It's reported that British Prime Minister seen here with Deputy PM Angela Rayner IS NOT invited to Trumps Inauguration next week ‼️
Other World Leaders have all been welcomed but not Sir Keir Starmer.
Usually the British PM would be first name on the list due to Britains & Americas 'Special Relationship' - it looks like Labour have already wrecked this alliance too.
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Mon Jan 13 17:29:57 2024 UTC)
Trump invited several heads of state to his January 20, 2025, ceremony, a move that broke with long-standing traditions. There is no evidence as of January 14, 2025, that Starmer was among the invitees.
Thomas Balcerski, a presidential historian at Eastern Connecticut State University (archived here), told Lead Stories via phone on January 13, 2025, that the British prime minister traditionally has not been the "first name on the list" of guests at inaugurations. However, he noted that Trump is bucking all traditions:
I would not be surprised if Prime Minister Starmer was not invited, in the sense that invitations are not typically extended to heads of state or foreign dignitaries to a presidential inauguration.
It is my understanding as a presidential historian that it is uncommon, if unprecedented for an incoming president to extend those invitations. Mind you, incoming presidents typically do not have the kinds of relationships where they would potentially on a firsthand basis or from prior experience, know all of the world leaders. Donald Trump is unique in the sense that he's had one term. But of course, when Donald Trump was president, the current prime minister and his Labor Party was not in power.
Balcerski explained his thoughts on Trump upending traditional standards for his inauguration:
It's a long way of saying that Donald Trump's continued unprecedented, uh, sort of political style, I think here, is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it seems as though people who are invited, and it's interesting how they're officially invited or not, tend to be those more favorable to Trump, whereas Starmer and his party were currently, I would say, not in favor with Trump and his allies like Elon Musk on X platform, seem to be, at least officially or unofficially, not part of the kind of invitation set that for whatever reason has been offered.
Balcerski pointed out that during the 2017 inauguration for Trump's first term, no world leaders were invited:
So, in Donald Trump's first inauguration, no, there were no foreign dignitaries, none were invited. It was not a talking point. It was not something we were looking at in 2017.
And certainly, going back as far as I've been able to find ... in my own research, none in the 21st century, none in the 20th century. And perhaps some of the foreign ministers would have attended the inaugurations of the 19th century presidents, but in the sense that anyone can attend the inauguration, they did on behalf of their governments, but no, never, never has a head of state.
Balcerski explained the protocol for the inauguration:
In terms of the inauguration itself, the day, the ceremony, the platform, the staging, there isn't much that the president-elect is officially charged with or expected to do, if anything. Up until Donald Trump's re-election in a second non-consecutive term here, the president-elect is often not part of the official government at that point. And in this case, Trump is returning to power.
The USA.gov (archived here) website, the official guide to government information and services, explains who organizes the inauguration, scheduled for January 20, 2025:
The inauguration is planned by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC). Inaugural events include the swearing-in ceremony, the inaugural address, and the pass in review.
The Miami Herald reported (archived here) on the foreign leaders who were invited to Trump's inauguration:
Among those who have been invited to the Jan. 20 ceremony are Chinese President Xi Jinping, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Argentinian President Javier Milei.
CBS News reported (archived here) in December 2024 that Chinese President Xi Jinping was not expected to attend the inauguration.
Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told CNN (archived here) why Trump was inviting foreign leaders to the inauguration:
This is an example of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just allies but our adversaries and our competitors, too.
Other Lead Stories fact checks on claims regarding the presidential inauguration can be found here and fact checks on claims about Donald Trump can be found here.
