Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky repeatedly requested an invitation to the inauguration from incoming US President Donald Trump but was continuously turned down, according to his son Donald Trump Jr.

Trump Jr. criticized the Ukrainian leader's recent interview with American podcaster Lex Fridman, in which Zelensky indicated that he would be unable to attend the inauguration on January 20.

Zelensky informed Friedman that he could not attend because he did not believe it to be "proper" while his country is at war. "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," he stated. 

Trump Jr. responded by saying, “the funniest part is that he asked for an invite like three times unofficially, and each time got turned down.”

Trump Jr. confirms that Zelensky tried and failed to score an invite to the inauguration and got rejected. Three times. pic.twitter.com/DCLmDYT0Tq

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) January 18, 2025

He referred to Zelensky as a "Weirdo," adding, “Now he’s acting like he decided not to go himself."

Incoming US presidents typically do not invite foreign leaders to their inaugurations. Still, Trump broke with tradition and extended invitations to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Argentine President Javier Milei, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa, and Paraguayan President Santiago Pena.

While Xi and Orban have excused themselves, the rest have promised to attend. China’s Foreign Ministry announced that Vice President Han Zheng will attend as Xi’s special representative.

Back in November, Donald Trump Jr. suggested on social media that Zelensky may soon face a significant reduction in aid from the United States.

During his campaign, Donald Trump criticized Zelensky's relationship with the Biden administration, labeling him "the greatest salesman in history" for securing billions in aid from President Joe Biden's administration.

The US has since the outbreak of the war in 2022 been Ukraine's largest donor, with Congress allocating over tens of billions of dollars in military and humanitarian aid. Moscow has consistently condemned this support, arguing that it prolongs the conflict and will not alter the outcome.