FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – More world leaders are confirming they have been invited to President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, and Argentine President Javier Milei is disclosing his plans to travel to Washington, breaking an American political tradition that kept foreign heads of state away from the transfer of power.
Milei's spokesman Manuel Adorni told journalists in a text message that Trump had invited the Argentine leader, noting how it was the first time such an invitation had been extended to the president from the South American nation. And the Salvadoran ambassador to the U.S. said there had been an invitation to President Nayib Bukele and was still waiting to hear whether he would accept it.
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No head of state has previously made an official visit to the U.S. for the inauguration.
On Monday, Trump spoke about his invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping, revealing he had not declined it or confirmed his attendance yet. He was asked which other world leaders had been invited and whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among them. Trump said the Ukrainian leader had not been invited, “but if he’d like to come, I’d like to have him.”
Trump's transition team did not respond to a request for information, but last week, spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Trump had invited world leaders. On Monday, Trump said world leaders were calling him when asked a question about what other heads of state he had invited.
El Salvador’s ambassador to the U.S. Milena Mayorga said on a radio show that she was waiting to see if Bukele will accept the invitation saying it was still under consideration due to security reasons.
Milei was the first foreign leader to meet with Trump after the election, traveling from Buenos Aires to the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago club. Milei, who describes himself as an “anarcho-capitalist” receives praise frequently from billionaire Elon Musk and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who will helm the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency" to fire federal workers, cut programs and slash federal regulations.
In his message to journalists, Milei's spokesperson Adorni said Trump is creating an entity similar to his new ministry of deregulation in Argentina. Milei brandished a chainsaw while campaigning on budget cuts, and then implemented a series of austerity measures, laying off tens of thousands of government workers, freezing public infrastructure projects and imposing wage and pension freezes below inflation.
Many economists express cautious optimism that, as radical as some of the measures Milei has adopted, he is taking the right steps to rescue crisis-prone Argentina.
Milei hopes good relations between the two countries could help Argentina reach a new deal with the International Monetary Fund, which would relieve pressure on the billions of dollars in debt repayments due next year. ___
Rey reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Associated Press writer Yolanda Magaña contributed to this report from San Salvador, El Salvador.