Here are the confirmed attendees at Trump’s inauguration
President-elect Trump’s Inauguration Day is less than a week away, and he’s begun to plan who will attend various events in Washington to mark his return to the White House.
Trump has invited many other people, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, but it’s not known if they will come to the U.S. to welcome Trump back to office.
Here’s who is confirmed to attend Trump’s inauguration so far:
President Biden
President Biden announced last month he would attend Trump’s inauguration.
He said, “of course” he would attend, noting the only outgoing president not to attend the ceremony was Trump himself, when he lost to Biden in 2020. Former first lady Melania Trump also did not attend.
Former President Obama
Former President Obama will attend the Jan. 20 ceremony, but his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, will not. In a statement, the Obama family said the former president would be attending Trump’s second inauguration.
The statement did not provide an explanation for Michelle Obama’s absence. Her decision not to attend Trump’s inauguration breaks the tradition among most former presidents and their wives, besides the Trumps in 2020.
Former President Obama recently sat next to Trump at former President Carter’s funeral last week. The two noticeably shared a laugh and conversation at the ceremony.
Former President Bush and former first lady Laura Bush
Former President Bush and former first lady Laura Bush will attend, according to a Bush spokesperson.
Former President Clinton and former first lady Hillary Clinton
Former President Clinton and former first lady Hillary Clinton will also attend the ceremony next week.
Hillary Clinton, Obama’s secretary of State, notably attended Trump’s first inauguration in 2017 after she lost the 2016 presidential election to him.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk, who has been tapped to co-lead Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), will be in Washington to attend the inauguration.
Musk donated millions to Trump’s campaign and has become a close ally of the president-elect. There’s concern about Musk’s influence over Trump as the tech billionaire continues to engage politically with him ahead of the inauguration.
Jeff Bezos
Amazon owner Jeff Bezos will also be in attendance, a source confirmed to The Hill.
Bezos also owns the aerospace company Blue Origin and recently expressed optimism about the new Trump administration’s space policy.
Amazon donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee last month, matching the amount donated by Meta a few days earlier.
Mark Zuckerberg
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will attend the inauguration, a source said, and will be seated next to Bezos and Musk.
The tech trio are expected to be seated near the other former presidents, Trump’s family, lawmakers, and his Cabinet picks, the Post reported, a prominent seat for the group.
Shou Zi Chew
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will attend on Monday, one day after a potential ban of the video-sharing platform could take effect in the U.S., according to a source familiar with the plans.
Sundar Pichai
Google CEO Sundar Pichai will also attend the ceremony, a source told The Hill. Google was among numerous tech companies to donate $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.
Sam Altman
Sam Altman, the CEO and co-founder of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, is expected to attend the event, a company spokesperson told The Hill. Altman donated $1 million in personal funds to Trump’s inauguration fund last month.
Alex Gangitano, Miranda Nazzaro and Julia Shapero contributed.
Updated Jan. 16 at 11:55 a.m. EST
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