It is not true that Zelensky asked for an invitation to Trump’s inauguration three times and was turned down

A fake news claim has circulated, stating Zelensky applied three times for an invitation to Trump’s inauguration and was turned down. This claim was spread through a screenshot, supposedly from a post by Donald Trump Jr. However, the original post cannot be found, indicating that the screenshot is merely a fabricated photo montage

 

 

A post on the social network Facebook says:

Ukrainian President Zelensky asked three times to be invited to Donald Trump’s inauguration, but was turned down, says Donald Trump Jr.

 

This is disinformation debunked on the 19th of January 2025, by Ukrainian fact-checking site StopFake, as well as by US weekly newspaper Newsweek the following morning. Volodymyr Zelensky did not ask for an invitation to the inauguration of his American colleague Donald Trump and that news was not shared by his son Donald Trump Jr. 

It is no lie that Donald Trump Jr. has a negative opinion of Zelensky and ridicules him on social networks, calling him a “spoiled child” and a “beggar,” who is constantly begging for something from the US (money, military aid and so on), that is the reason why some believed he had asked for an invitation to the inauguration and that the news was shared by Trump Jr., however, that is not true.

Even if Trump Jr. had indeed published it, it must be pointed out that he is not the president of the US, nor is he a functionary in the political leadership there, he is simply a businessman, and so his statements and opinions are not the official statements and opinions of Washington.

Regarding the stance of official Washington, during the press-conference held on the 16th of December 2024, when asked whether Zelensky was invited to the inauguration, President Trump said:

No. But if he’d like to come, I’d like to have him. 

The statement is direct and somewhat contradictory, suggesting that while Trump did not extend an invitation to Zelensky, he was not opposed to his attendance. Maybe what Trump meant was that he would send an invitation to Zelensky if he really insisted on it. But regardless of what Trump had to say, he didn’t mention that Zelensky had asked for an invitation, nor that he had been turned down for it.

Moreover, the inauguration is open to uninvited guests, provided they have tickets, which are free for U.S. citizens and are sometimes unofficially resold, or special VIP invitations for wealthy guests who are willing to donate large sums. However, Zelensky is the head of a foreign state which is not very rich, so it’s unlikely that Trump was thinking about any of these options.

Disinformation claiming Zelensky asked for an invitation three times and was turned down began spreading across social networks some time before the day of the inauguration, the 20th of January 2025. It was a screenshot, which was allegedly made using a post by Trump Jr., however, Newsweek could not find the original source. This means that the “news” is based on a fake screenshot, which is a photo montage.

The “screenshot” contains real statements by Zelensky regarding Trump’s inauguration, taken out of context, which he made for Lex Fridman’s podcast, published on the 5th of January 2025. Regarding the inauguration, Zelensky said this:

I would like to, of course. I will be considering what is happening then in the war, because there are moments of difficulties, escalation, many missiles, etc. But, honestly, well, I can’t. I can’t come, especially during the war, unless President Trump invites me personally.

Contrary to what the fake news claims, Zelensky does not ask for an invitation like a spoiled child, and furthermore, what is quoted here can have two meanings. The first is that Zelensky simply says he cannot attend the inauguration if he is not invited, but he does not insist to be invited, the second meaning is that maybe he wanted to use that visit to the US for a personal meeting with Trump, and that is why he is speaking of a personal invitation from Trump, but we will elaborate on that a bit later.

Meanwhile, Zelensky shares the dilemmas he faces around the inauguration. In theory, he would like to attend, but he wonders if it would be appropriate in the midst of war. To these dilemmas he adds the following:

I’m not sure it’s proper to come, because I know that in general, leaders are, for some reason, not usually invited to the inauguration of presidents of the United States of America. 

Foreign politicians are usually not invited to attend presidential inaugurations in the US, that is why Zelensky wonders whether it is appropriate to attend Trump’s inauguration. However, Trump broke that tradition and invited: Xi Jinping (China), Nigel Farage (Britain), Mateusz Morawieck (Poland), Giorga Meloni (Italy), Javier Milei (Argentina), Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil) and others. Interestingly, the list did not include some important foreign politicians such as: Keir Starmer (Britain), Emmanuel Macron (France), Olaf Scholz (Germany), and Ursula von der Leyen (EU).

Trump chose foreign guests not so much for their importance as much as for the fact that they are ideologically close, and among them are rightists, conservatives, and so on.
Even though Viktor Orbán (Hungary) could be referred to as such, he was interestingly not invited.

From this we understand that many famous politicians did not receive an invite, and not all which were invited attended the inauguration, so Zelensky’s absence at the inauguration is not a defeat or something to be ridiculed. Finally, he did in fact receive an invitation, which he explained in an interview with Piers Morgan on the 4th of February 2025:

President Trump invited me to his inauguration, but he invited me in very general terms as maybe other leaders. I am not aware whom he invited personally or in another manner, but I just believe that we need time to sit and speak about how to end the war and we need time for that. In this moment, in the inauguration moment, I think that he has his own issues on the agenda. 

So, in a given moment Zelensky did in fact receive an invitation, but he decided not to attend the event, because he realized Trump will not have time for a personal meeting. Pointless journeys and ceremonies were not Zelensky’s priority, but solving the problems Ukraine is facing. Maybe that is the meaning behind the expression “personal meeting,” which we previously encountered.

Zelensky did not ask for such a personal invitation or meeting, he only stated he would visit the US in case he receives it. If not, he considered it to be improper to travel with the intent to attend a celebration in the midst of war.

What needs to be taken into consideration is that he made these statements during interviews, which we saw clips from, which means they were said during free conversation with simultaneous interpretation, during which some things may be lost in translation and so on. We noted statements, some of which are confusing, poor, or conflicting, as well as some dilemmas and hesitation. However, we did not see any information regarding Zelensky asking for an invitation three times and being turned down.

Taking all of this into account, we assess the post as untrue.

 

 

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