Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly made multiple, uninvited requests to US President Donald Trump to attend his inauguration, according to Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. Trump Jr. made the claim on Instagram, citing an interview Zelensky gave to American podcaster Lex Fridman in early January.
In the interview, Zelensky explained that he could not attend the inauguration on January 20, citing the ongoing war as a reason, unless Trump invited him personally. Zelensky also expressed uncertainty about attending, as he knew that leading figures from other countries were not typically invited to the inauguration of a US president.
Trump Jr. responded by saying that the amusing part was that Zelensky had made three unofficial requests for an invitation, only to receive three rejections. He also described Zelensky as “a joke”.
While it is common for new US presidents not to invite foreign heads of state to their inauguration, Trump did invite several leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and others. Xi and Orbán subsequently declined the invitations, while the others accepted.
Trump has expressed skepticism about the US campaign in support of Ukraine and has promised to quickly end the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, a move that has raised concerns among Ukrainian officials that a ceasefire agreement proposed by the designated president could harm their country. Zelensky and Trump last met in New York in late September, where they both expressed a desire for a fair solution to the conflict.