Keir Starmer will not be attending Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington, DC despite an eclectic cast of British and international characters including Suella Braverman, Liz Truss and Laurence Fox jetting off
Keir Starmer will not be among the small handful of world leaders at Donald Trump’s inauguration today.
Elon Musk decided to continue his war with Mr Starmer by claiming the PM had been snubbed from attending the lavish ceremony. But in reality, Mr Starmer was never due to go.
Historically, foreign leaders never attend the swearing-in of a US President. The UK is expected to send US ambassador Karen Pierce to the inauguration, rather than the Prime Minister, in line with tradition.
However Trump has broken with tradition by inviting some world leaders, including Argentina’s chainsaw-weilding ‘madman’ Javier Milei. He has also invited Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who leads the far-right Brothers of Italy party and has been criticised for her hard line on immigration.
He has also invited Chinese President Xi Jinping, although he is not expected to attend. An eclectic list of characters including Liz Truss, Suella Braverman, Conor McGregor, Laurence Fox and Nigel Farage have travelled to Washington, DC for the historic day.
Talking about inviting world leaders last month, Trump rambled: “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.”
However world leaders have been cautious to take up his invitation. The Chinese President decided to send a top-level envoy in his place. Mr Musk continued his war against the UK Government by claiming Mr Starmer was snubbed from attending because of a row over Labour volunteers travelling to campaign for the Democrats in battleground states. The Trump campaign filed a legal complaint in October, claiming “blatant foreign interference”. But the PM dismissed this at the time, saying they were volunteers going in their own time.
If you can’t see the poll, click here
Responding to a post on X by a user questioning why Mr Starmer wasn’t attending, the tech billionaire replied: “He sent operatives to America to undermine the US election!”
In reality, it fairly normal for party officials from the UK to be in contact with counterparts in the US. Trump’s Republican Party has strong ties to Reform and to the Conservative Party.
BLUESKY: Follow our Mirror Politics account on Bluesky here. And follow our Mirror Politics team here – Lizzy Buchan, Jason Beattie, Kevin Maguire, Sophie Huskisson, Dave Burke, Ashley Cowburn, Mikey Smith
POLITICS WHATSAPP: Be first to get the biggest bombshells and breaking news by joining our Politics WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you want to leave our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
NEWSLETTER: Or sign up here to the Mirror’s Politics newsletter for all the best exclusives and opinions straight to your inbox.
PODCAST: And listen to our exciting new political podcast The Division Bell, hosted by the Mirror and the Express every Thursday.
No10 refused to be drawn on the invitations for the inauguration. The PM’s official spokesman said: “It’s a question for the President-elect’s team.” Asked if it was a snub, the spokesman said: “I’m not going to get into private invitations.”
Downing Street is keen for Mr Starmer to visit the White House at the earliest opportunity, with diplomatic efforts being made to secure a trip as soon as possible after the inauguration next week. However there have been warnings that he could be pipped to a coveted early visit by populist right-wing leaders like Italy’s Meloni or Hungarian leader Viktor Orban.
Theresa May was the first foreign leader to meet Mr Trump in his first term in 2017. But the visit turned into a headache for the-then PM when Mr Trump made global headlines by grabbing her hand as they walked through the White House.
