As Donald Trump is sworn in today at around 12pm EST (6pm CET) as the 47th President of the United States, European politicians will be listening attentively to his second-term inaugural address, while several of the his political allies will attend in person.

Trump’s statements since his election victory on 5 November have raised concerns in Europe over the speed at which a ramp up of contributions from NATO member states will be sought and how quickly and at what cost a peace deal over the Ukraine conflict might come, on top of the pervasive threat of tariff hikes.

Donald Trump also stunned Europeans by announcing that he wanted to buy Greenland, a Danish territory, not ruling out the possibility of using force.

Although heads of state and governments aren’t usually included on the guest-list of the inauguration ceremony of American presidents, Argentina President Javier Milei was invited and will attend alongside Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa. Chinese President Xi Jinping was also invited but will be represented by Vice President Han Zheng.

In Europe, the leaders of the main European institutions have not been invited, but the EU’s representative to the US, Jovita Neliupšienė, will be present, and a large gathering of European right-wing politicians and MEPs is expected in Washington.

Italy’s Prime minister Georgia Meloni, who recently visited Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago golf club, is on the guest-list and confirmed Saturday she was coming. Former Polish Prime Minister and President of the ECR Mateusz Morawiecki, has said he will attend the ceremony, as well as Belgium’s Vlaams Belang leader Tom Van Grieken, Eric Zemmour, the leader of France’s nationalist Reconquête party, Tino Chrupalla, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Santiago Abascal Spain’s Vox party president and Nigel Farage leader of the far-right Reform UK party.

The German Ambassador to Washington, Mr Michaelis, will attend the inauguration on behalf of the federal government, according to the government spokespeople.

Foreign policy spokesperson for CDU Jürgen Hardt is also attending from the German side.

AfD confirmed to Euronews on Thursday that Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Tino Chrupalla will be attending Trump’s inauguration, whilst co-leader and chancellor candidate Alice Weidel will stay behind in Germany to concentrate on the election campaign. Deputy chairwoman of the AfD parliamentary group, Beatrix von Storch is also to attend the event. 

In total 13 MEPs from The Patriots, the ECR and Europe of Sovereign Nation, including MEPs from Spanish VOX, Hungarian Fidesz, French Rassemblement National, German AFD, Czech ANO, Italian Fratelli d’Italia, Polish PiS, Dom i nacionalno okupljanje from Croatia and National Alliance from Latvia.

Last week a spokesperson for Viktor Orbán confirmed that the Hungarian prime minister had not been invited.

Silicon Valley moguls will unsurprisingly also attend Trumps’ inauguration, along with former US presidents, US senators and House members, foreign diplomats, such as the EU’s representative to D.C., Jovita Neliupšienė, and heads of state. X owner Elon Musk, who will lead US Department of government efficiency, will be there as well as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and bosses of Alphabet and Apple Sundar Pichai and Tim Cook.

200,000 people are expected to show up in Washington DC for the ceremony.

The inauguration day for the American presidents consists of several formal stages, from a service at St John’s Church, Lafayette Square, a historic Washington DC church, to three inaugural balls throughout the city where the new president is expected to speak.

Musical performance will take place on the main event stage at the US Capitol, before the swearing-in of Donald Trump and vice president-elected J.D Vance as well as the inaugural address of the 47th president of the United-States.

Nelly is speaking out against critics who have denounced his performance at tomorrow’s Liberty Inaugural Ball, one of three official balls celebrating Donald Trump’s return to the presidency.

The St. Louis rapper addressed the appearance during an interview with Willie D Live, downplaying the political implications of the performance and stating that he’s simply honoring the moment by showing up for the event.

“I thought you was riding with me because I put on for my city and I try to bring my city up every step of the way. I did not know you was riding with me because you thought I would ride with who you voted for. I didn’t know that,” he said. “I didn’t know I had to agree with your political choices, and I thought it was the things that you do not the things that you say should be done. If you follow what I do, this shouldn’t even be an argument. He’s the president. He won. This isn’t a campaign, this isn’t an RNC. I’m not out on a political campaign.”

He continued by likening the performance to the same sense of civic duty that American military personnel feel in defending their country. “I’m not doing this for money, I’m doing this because it’s an honor. I respect the office. It doesn’t matter who is in office,” he said. “The same way that our men and women, our brothers and sisters who protect this country, have to go to war and have to put their life on the line for whoever in office. So if they can put their life on the line for whoever in office, I can damn sure perform.”

Willie D brought up criticisms that performing for the office meant appearing in support of Trump. “More than half this country voted for Trump. If you respect the process when the process works in your favor, respect the process when it doesn’t work in your favor,” responded Nelly.

Numerous representatives for the rapper did not respond to Variety‘s earlier requests for comment.

At the Liberty Inaugural Ball, Nelly will grace the stage alongside Village People, whose classic “Y.M.C.A.” became a recurring song played during Trump’s campaign rallies. Village People released a statement earlier this week about its involvement in events surrounding Trump’s swearing-in. “We know this won’t make some of you happy to hear however we believe that music is to be performed without regard to politics,” the group wrote on Facebook. “Our song Y.M.C.A. is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost. Therefore, we believe it’s now time to bring the country together with music which is why VILLAGE PEOPLE will be performing at various events as part of the 2025 Inauguration of Donald J. Trump.”

While Nelly and Village People will perform at balls, Carrie Underwood, Lee Greenwood and Christopher Macchio are scheduled to perform at the inauguration itself. On Friday, Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross and Soulja Boy appeared at the Crypto Ball, eliciting divisive online reactions that pointed out previous contradictory statements by some of the rappers.

Nelly also sang a different tune about Trump, telling Page Six in 2017 that he didn’t agree with his approach as commander-in-chief. “You know the thing about Donald Trump is that I liked Donald Trump, I did, I just don’t like Donald Trump as my president,” he said. “Dude is a trip. Pre-presidency, I was cool with the Donald. Loved his hotels. I’m more or less mad at him because I can’t stay at his hotel now. You done fucked that up. And I’ve been staying there for 15 years, and now you pull this. Get it together, homie.”

Germany’s ambassador to the U.S. has warned that President-elect Donald Trump’s administration will “undermine” democratic principles with a “maximum disruption” agenda, according to a report.

Reuters reported that it viewed a confidential briefing document signed by Ambassador Andreas Michaelis that describes the incoming Trump agenda as “a redefinition of the constitutional order – maximum concentration of power with the president at the expense of Congress and the federal states.”

“Basic democratic principles and checks and balances will be largely undermined, the legislature, law enforcement and media will be robbed of their independence and misused as a political arm, Big Tech will be given co-governing power,” reads the document, which was dated Jan. 14.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team for comment but did not immediately hear back.

TRUMP INAUGURATION: WHO IS EXPECTED TO ATTEND, AND WHO IS BOYCOTTING?

Michaelis said recent actions by Trump and billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk could lead to a “redefinition of the First Amendment.” 

“One is using lawsuits, threatening criminal prosecution and license revocation, the other is having algorithms manipulated and accounts blocked,” the document reads, per Reuters.

Musk supported Trump throughout the election, and was tapped by the president-elect to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency. 

GERMANY ACCUSES ELON MUSK OF TRYING TO INTERFERE IN ITS NATIONAL ELECTIONS

Last month, Germany accused Musk of attempting to interfere in the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections on behalf of the country’s far-right political party, German Alternative for Germany, citing recent social media posts and a weekend op-ed doubling down on his endorsement.

Meanwhile, Michaelis even claimed that Trump could force his agenda on states using broad legal options and that “even military deployment within the country for police activities would be possible in the event of declared ‘insurrection’ and ‘invasion’.”

The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, however, bars federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement unless Congress overrides the federal law.

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Despite what Michaelis says in the reported document, the German foreign ministry has acknowledged Trump won the democratic election and said it will “work closely with the new U.S. administration in the interests of Germany and Europe.”