Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and former UK prime minister Boris Johnson are among the high-profile guests in Washington DC for Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The three men were sat in the same row inside St John’s Church as the incoming president attended a church service before his swearing in.
Other famous faces getting a prime seat for the big moment included Tesla boss Elon Musk, who appeared momentarily mesmerised by the ceiling of the US Capitol building.
Image: Elon Musk appeared to be checking out the ornate ceiling. Pic: Reuters
Image: The ceremony was held in the rotunda in Washington’s US Capitol building. Pic: Reuters
The Tesla boss was perhaps Mr Trump‘s most famous backer during the election race and he’ll help lead an “efficiency” department in the new government.
Mr Musk was seen chatting to Google boss Sundar Pichai in the moments before the swearing-in, with Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and his partner Lauren Sanchez on the other side.
Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg was a few spaces along with wife Priscilla Chan – as the titans of tech waited for Mr Trump to arrive.
Image: Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg with wife Priscilla Chan (left) and Lauren Sanchez. Pic: Reuters
Image: Google boss Sundar Pichai (middle) and Elon Musk, with Jeff Bezos (left). Pic: Reuters
The multi-billionaires will be hoping the new president’s policies will boost, or at least not hinder, their vast money-making machines.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook was also at the swearing in, while TikTok’s boss Zhang Yiming was also expected to be in Washington DC.
Mr Trumphas pledged to give the app a reprieve from a ban that made it temporarily go “dark” in the US on Sunday.
Image: Apple chief Tim Cook was also among the tech billionaires in attendance. Pic: Reuters
Image: Argentina President Javier Milei and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni. Pic: Reuters
Argentina’s far-right president, Javier Milei, was one of several world leaders in attendance.
Mr Milei, with his “rock and roll” hair cut and sideburns, was pictured laughing arm in arm with Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was also invited, according to Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, but is believed to have declined.
Foreign leaders are not normally invited to presidential inaugurations but Mr Trump broke with tradition.
Image: Former presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama. Pic: AP
Image: The Clintons, former president and secretary of state, were also there. Pic: AP
Image: UFC boss Dana White is a long-time Trump supporter. Pic: Reuters
Image: Influencer brothers Jake Paul and Logan Paul. Pic: Reuters
UFC boss Dana White was also suited and booted for the swearing-in ceremony and seen standing next to Barack Obama.
The mixed martial arts promoter often hosts Mr Trump at his events and is credited with helping boost his appeal among young men.
Influencers and fight stars Jake and Logan Paul were also in the building, watching from a nearby area called the Emancipation Hall.
Democrat former presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush – although from across the political divide – also turned out.
Image: Barron Trump waiting for his father’s moment in the spotlight. Pic: Reuters
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0:35
Melania’s hat stops Trump kiss
Mr Trump’s family were all there of course, with wife Melania wearing a wide-brimmed hat alongside their son Barron.
However, there was an awkward moment when Donald Trump went in for a kiss but came up short – seemingly blocked by her choice of headwear.
Outgoing president Joe Biden appeared relaxed as his final minutes as commander in chief ticked down.
The Democrat received an ovation as he entered the Capitol’s rotunda with first lady Jill Biden.
Defeated candidate Kamala Harris also watched the handover of power – at times stony-faced as Mr Trump said he would declare an emergency at the southern border to halt migration – and to “drill baby, drill” for oil.
Image: Mr Trump promised to ‘dill baby, drill’. Pic: Reuters
Image: The outgoing president and vice president looked unimpressed with Mr Trump’s speech. Pic: Reuters
Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK’s Reform Party and long-time supporter of Mr Trump, is believed to be in Washington but – like Boris Johnson – hasn’t been seen at the inauguration ceremony itself.
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Posting a picture from a Trump victory rally at the weekend, Mr Farage said: “We are so back.”
Images on X also show him alongside party treasurer Nick Candy, the billionaire UK property developer, and former SAS Who Dares Wins star Ant Middleton – who’s now trying to enter politics.
Donald Trump‘s berating of Mr Zelenskyy has led to a show of support from European leaders as they try to formulate their own way forward.
The US president attacked the Ukrainian leader again on Monday, telling reporters he should be “more appreciative”.
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Image: The tens of billion in US aid has included Patriot air defence systems. Pic: Reuters
Writing on Truth Social, Mr Trump also said Mr Zelenskyyhad made “the worst statement that could have been made” after he commented that peace was still “very, very far away”.
“America will not put up with it for much longer!” he posted.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing,” the president added.
Mr Zelenskyy then posted on X, saying Ukraine was “working together with America and our European partners and very much hope on US support on the path to peace”.
“Peace is needed as soon as possible,” he said.
‘Music to the ears of Putin’
By David Blevins, US correspondent
President Trump’s decision to pause military aid to Ukraine marks a significant shift in US foreign policy, one previously considered unthinkable.
This blow to Ukraine’s defences in the face of Russian aggression will be music to the ears of President Putin. US military aid has kept Ukraine in this David and Goliath battle for three years.
It has funded what military analysts simplify as “the big stuff” of battle – artillery, anti-tank weapons, rockets and armoured vehicles. Trump’s decision to push pause disregards efforts by Keir Starmer and other European leaders to devise a peace plan.
Those already questioning Europe’s reliance on the US for defence will conclude they have been given the answer.
But the decision sets President Trump up for a potential confrontation with Republicans, who had approved the funding, in Congress.
White House sources say he wants President Zelenskyy to go on TV and apologise for the jaw-dropping showdown last Friday. But the Ukrainian president feels he has no apology to make for expressing his doubt about Russia’s commitment to peace.
Earlier, Trump side-stepped a question about a Kremlin diplomat claiming the US administration and Moscow were now aligned on foreign policy.
This weakening of Ukraine’s defence capability moves that question front and centre as he prepares to address Congress on Tuesday.
Despite the diplomatic crisis, President Trump has said a deal is still possible.
An agreement giving the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth metals was meant to have been signed by the two presidents on Friday.
It was billed as an important step in a future peace deal – and part payback for aid already received.
However, the dramatic falling out has thrown that into jeopardy.
Mr Zelenskyy wants the metals deal to include guarantees on halting Russia should it break the terms of any peace agreement.
However, vice president JD Vance suggested on Monday that the metals pact was the best way to secure a lasting end to the war.
“If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine,” Mr Vance said.
“That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years,” he added.
European and world allies – who met the Ukrainian leader in London at the weekend – have discussed a “coalition of the willing” to deploy peacekeepers and deter further Russian aggression.
The prime minister said Britain was prepared to put “boots on the ground and planes in the air” under the plan – but it’s unclear who else might participate.
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Keir Starmer told MPs on Monday that Britain must “lead from the front” on supporting Ukraine and the “security of our continent, the security of our country”.
However, the prime minister believes any international deployment of troops must have a US “backstop” deterrent to be taken seriously by Russia.
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Donald Trump has confirmed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, taking effect at 5am UK time on Tuesday.
The US president confirmed the tariffs in a speech at the White House – and his announcement sent US stocks down sharply.
The tariffs will be felt heavily by US companies which have factories in Canada and Mexico, such as carmakers.
Mr Trump said: “They’re going to have a tariff. So what they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs.”
There’s “no room left” for a deal that would see the tariffs shelved if fentanyl flowing into the US is curbed by its neighbours, he added.
As of 12:01am Eastern Standard Time (5.01am GMT), Mexico and Canada face tariffs of 25%, with 10% for Canadian energy, the Trump administration confirmed.
And tariffs on Chinese imports will double, raising them from 10% to 20%.
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Canada announced it would retaliate immediately, imposing 25% tariffs on US imports worth C$30bn (£16.3bn). It added the tariffs would be extended in 21 days to cover more US goods entering the country if the US did not lift its sanctions against Canada.
China also vowed to retaliate and reiterated its stance that the Trump administration was trying to “shift the blame” and “bully” Beijing over fentanyl flows.
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2:45
What is America’s trade position?
Mr Trump’s speech stoked fears of a trade war in North America and sent financial markets reeling.
Markets the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 1.4% and 1.76% respectively.
The share prices for automobile companies including General Motors, which has significant truck production in Mexico, Automaker and Ford also fell.
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Consumers in the US could see price hikes within days, an expert has said.
Gustavo Flores-Macias, a public policy professor at Cornell University, New York, said “the automobile sector, in particular, is likely to see considerable negative consequences”.
This is due to supply chains that “crisscross the three countries in the manufacturing process” and ” because of the expected increase in the price of vehicles, which can dampen demand,” he added.
Donald Trump has hit out at the Ukrainian president once again, just four days after an explosive on-camera spat between the pair.
The US president posted on Truth Social saying Volodymyr Zelenskyy made “the worst statement that could have been made” when he said the end of the war with Russia is “very, very far away”.
“America will not put up with it for much longer!” Mr Trump posted.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing,” the president added.
He also appeared to attack Mr Zelenskyy and Europe after yesterday’s Ukraine summit in London at which leaders, according to Mr Trump: “stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the US.”
“What are they thinking?” Mr Trump asked.
A deal to end the war was still “very, very far away”, Mr Zelenskyy said earlier, adding he expects to keep receiving US support despite the two leaders’ public spat.
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“I think our relationship (with the US) will continue because it’s more than an occasional relationship,” the Ukrainian president added.
Mr Trump said in his Truth Social post: “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?”
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