Tom Van Grieken, the leader of the far-right Vlaams Belang party, will attend the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump on 20 January in Washington, the Flemish nationalist party announced on Monday.
Van Grieken received an invitation to Trump’s inauguration, unlike European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and outgoing Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
Van Grieken was invited because his party is part of the nationalist and far-right group, Patriots for Europe, in the European Parliament. Many members of this group have connections with Donald Trump or his MAGA movement.
Initially, the leader of the Flemish far-right party indicated that he did not intend to accept the invitation due to his party’s New Year’s reception, which is scheduled for the day before the inauguration. In a display of loyalty to his party, he stressed the Vlaams Belang slogan "Our People First". But on Monday Van Grieken changed his mind and announced that he would attend both his party’s New Year’s event and the inauguration in the US.
Van Grieken has made it clear that he plans to use his trip to the United States to strengthen the international message of the Flemish nationalists.
