The winds of change swept through Washington DC as an assembly of conservative and far-right luminaries from around the world gathered to witness the inauguration of Donald Trump, marking an unprecedented moment in American history. For the first time, foreign heads of state attended a US presidential swearing-in ceremony, underlining the gravity of the geopolitical realignment that Trump’s second term portends.
Global Who’s Who of Conservatives
The guest list read like a global who’s who of conservative politics. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni held court, angling to position herself as the critical link between the incoming administration and an increasingly fractured European Union. Argentina’s self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist” Javier Milei basked in the admiration of the American right, with his ruthless fiscal policies seen as the template for Elon Musk’s new “department of government efficiency.”
The UK contingent bristled with Brexiteers and hardliners—former PM Liz Truss hailed Trump’s return as the jolt “the West needs”, while erstwhile Home Secretary Suella Braverman made the scene. Not to be outdone, Germany’s ascendant far-right AfD party dispatched a trio of officials, pointedly snubbing Berlin’s disapproving gaze.
Latin America’s Right Turn
Latin America’s rightward lurch found vivid expression at the ceremony. El Salvador’s Twitter-savvy caudillo Nayib Bukele glad-handed his way through the crowd, fresh off his draconian “iron fist” purge that saw 2% of his adult population behind bars. Ecuador’s president-in-waiting, banana scion and scourge of organized crime Daniel Noboa worked the room with an eye on securing Trumpian benediction.
The specter of Jair Bolsonaro loomed large even in his court-mandated absence. Brazil’s ousted leader tearfully sent wife Michelle and son Eduardo in his stead, a poignant testament to the durability of Bannon-Bolsonaro ties that the Trump camp still prizes.
Shifting Axes, Fraying Alliances
The glaring absence of EU heavyweights like Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa laid bare the diplomatic rupture between Washington and Brussels. In lieu of traditional Atlantic solidarity, the new axis seems to run from DC to Rome to Buenos Aires, with detours through the AfD’s Berlin and the post-Brexit Tory right. Meloni waxed rhapsodic over the “global, interconnected challenges” that yoke America to Italy’s future, as whispers of IMF intrigues and trade machinations swirled through the ballrooms.
Yet for all the bonhomie, the specter of Putin and a resurgent Russia haunted the fringes. Prominent critics Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Salome Zourabichvili prowled the halls, symbols of the hardening anti-Moscow sentiment taking root in pockets of the new establishment. How Trump navigates the tension between his “friend Vladimir” and a DC foreign policy clique bent on containment may well prove the defining riddle of his second term.
Fraying Fabric, New Tapestry
As the inaugural balls swirled late into the night, one thing became clear—the once-sturdy fabric of the so-called “liberal international order” lay in tatters on the ballroom floor. In its place, a new tapestry began to emerge, woven from the charisma and ambitions of national populists, libertarian hatchet men, post-colonial strongmen, and illiberal demagogues of all stripes. Where this coalition of disruptors and opportunists takes the world from here is anyone’s guess.
One thing is certain: in Trump’s Washington, the personal is now the geopolitical. Fealty to the president, not hoary tradition or moth-eaten alliance, is now the coin of the global realm. Expect each bilateral relationship to be its own high-stakes roller coaster ride, with all the chaos and pugilism that implies. The guardrails are off—and for better or worse, it all starts now.
