(Reuters) – The December inauguration of Argentina’s President-elect Javier Milei will likely not count former U.S. President Donald Trump among the attendees, a person familiar with matter told Reuters on Monday.
The press office of the Argentine libertarian had announced on Nov. 23 that his fellow conservative would travel to Buenos Aires, but did not specifically say Trump would attend Milei’s formal swearing in as president on Dec. 10.
But a source close to the campaign of Trump, who is currently seeking his party’s nomination to win back his old job in next year’s U.S. election, cited a tight campaign schedule as the likely impediment.
“There’s nothing that’s currently planned,” said the source. “With the Iowa caucuses, New Hampshire and the rest of the primaries approaching so quickly, it is something that would be difficult in the short term,” the source added, ticking off the first U.S. states with presidential primary votes scheduled early next year.
The first nominating context for Trump’s Republican party is set for Iowa on Jan. 15, followed by New Hampshire on Jan. 23.
Trump also faces several criminal and civil court cases in the U.S. over the same time period, which is also seen as competing for his time as the presidential race heats up.
Milei, a far-right outsider who won Argentina’s run-off presidential vote by a 12-point margin earlier this month, has often drawn comparisons to Trump for his abrasive style and conservative policies.
(Reporting by Nathan Layne; Editing by Josie Kao)
