Donald Trump has invited a number of tech titans to attend the inauguration, joining more traditional guests such as his cabinet nominees. Billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg will attend as will Shou Chew, the head of Chinese social media giant TikTok, according to US media.

Trump has courted closer ties with the tech moguls, and his campaign benefited from disinformation spread on social media platforms such as TikTok, Musk’s X and Zuckerberg’s Facebook and Instagram.

Outgoing president Joe Biden will attend the ceremony — despite Trump’s refusal to appear at Biden’s swearing-in when he beat Trump in 2020. All living former presidents — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — will also attend, as will their wives, except for Michelle Obama.

Heads of state are not traditionally invited, but Trump has sent invitations to a handful of foreign leaders, including some who share his right-wing politics.  Far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will attend, her office confirmed Saturday.

Hungary’s Viktor Orban, Argentine President Javier Milei and China’s Xi Jinping have also been invited, but not all will attend. Xi sent Vice President Han Zheng in his place, who met Sunday with J.D. Vance, the transition office said. 

Ahead of Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony as the 47th President of the United States on Monday, an Ohio artist has unveiled a giant 15-foot-tall, $1 million bronze statute of the Republican leader. Titled “The Patriot Statue of Donald J. Trump,” the statue was created by sculptor Alan Cottrill. It depicts the Presdient-elect’s iconic moment from July 13, when he defiantly pumped his fist after surviving an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The statue will tour across the country before being displayed at a future Trump presidential library, the New York Post reported. 

The statue was commissioned by several dozen wealthy crypto-currency investors as a tribute to Donald Trump, who they hope will be a friend of the industry. “We’re so proud of the statue we all worked so hard to complete. It turned out exactly as planned and is truly fit to match the man it’s dedicated to! Larger Than Life!!!” crypto community Patriot Token wrote while sharing the picture of the bronze statue on X. 

Take a look below: 

The first image of the finished PATRIOT Statue of @realDonaldTrump was published today.

We’re so proud of the statue we all worked so hard to complete. It turned out exactly as planned and is truly fit to match the man it’s dedicated to!

Larger Than Life!!! pic.twitter.com/CycaYX0K5l

— Patriot Token (@Patriot_Erc20) January 18, 2025

The six-ton statute was commissioned just a week after the shooting, as per the Post. It is set to be unveiled at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C, and It’s then expected to tour the country.

“People will be making a pilgrimage to see this thing. Trump has a fan base that I don’t think we’ve seen in a politician in a very long time,” said Brock Pierce, a crypto-billionaire who helped finance the project.

“We do expect President Trump to be with the statue at some point during the inauguration,” added Dustin Stockton, a conservative activist and unofficial spokesperson for the investors.

Notably, Donald Trump will formally return to the White House after his second inauguration as president of the United States on January 20. He won the US presidential elections with a landslide victory after defeating outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris. He is set to take over from the incumbent President Joe Biden.

 Along with Mr Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance will also be sworn into office on Monday. This day, traditionally known as Inauguration Day, is marked by events filled with pomp and celebration. The inauguration day events will include a formal swearing-in ceremony, musical performances, a celebratory parade and several formal balls.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni flew to Florida to meet with President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday (January 4, 2025), as the key European leader sought to buttress ties with Mr. Trump before his inauguration on January 20.

Members of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort welcomed Ms. Meloni with applause after an introduction by the president-elect, according to videos shared on social media by reporters and others.

Her trip comes days before she is to meet U.S. President Joe Biden during a visit to Rome from Thursday to January 12. Trump defeated Biden in the November election and preparing his return to the White House.

While no details of their meeting have been disclosed, Ms. Meloni had planned to talk with Mr. Trump about Russia’s war in Ukraine, trade issues, the Middle East and the plight of an Italian journalist detained in Tehran, according to Italian media reports.

Ms. Meloni’s office declined to comment on the reports.

She is seen as a potentially strong partner for Mr. Trump given her conservative credentials and the stability of the right-wing coalition she heads in Italy. She has also forged a close relationship with billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, a close Trump ally who spent more than a quarter-billion dollars to help him win the election.

“This is very exciting. I’m here with a fantastic woman, the prime minister of Italy,” Mr. Trump told the Mar-a-Lago crowd, according to a media pool report. “She’s really taken Europe by storm.”

Mr. Trump and Ms. Meloni then sat down for a screening of a documentary questioning the criminal investigations and legal scrutiny faced by John Eastman, a former Trump lawyer who was central to Trump’s unsuccessful efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

One of the biggest challenges facing Ms. Meloni is the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala in Iran on December 19.

Ms. Sala was detained three days after Mohammad Abedini, an Iranian businessman, was arrested at Milan’s Malpensa airport on a U.S. warrant for allegedly supplying drone parts that Washington says were used in a 2023 attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan. Iran has denied involvement in the attack.

On Friday, Iran’s foreign ministry summoned Italy’s ambassador over Abedini’s detention, Iranian state media reported.

Ms. Meloni became the latest in the handful of foreign leaders who have visited Trump in Florida since the November 5 election. He has met with Argentinian President Javier Milei, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.