President-elect Donald J. Trump held a proud campaign-style rally at a downtown Washington arena on the eve of his second inauguration, celebrating his election victory and denouncing what he called “failed and corrupt politics.” “Established” in the capital, which despite what he called it, vowed to advance his policies.
The speech at Capital One Arena, just down the street from the White House, was typical Trump. In a mix of exaggerations and outright lies, the president-elect lambasted illegal immigrants, boasted about battleground states he won last November and slandered President Biden.
“Tomorrow at noon, four years of American decline will end and a brand new day of American strength and prosperity and dignity and pride will begin,” the president-elect said, adding that Biden presided over the “presidential campaign.” Ta. A failed government. We're not going to accept that anymore. ”
The rally marked a break with tradition for the president, who had sought to reserve comments for his official inaugural address shortly after taking the oath of office as the world watched.
In one of Trump's most anticipated actions, he signaled strongly that he would pardon many of the people convicted of storming the Capitol four years ago on January 6.
“Everyone in this very large arena tomorrow will be very happy with my decision regarding the J6 hostages,” he said, using language favored by those convicted in the attack. “You're going to be very, very happy. I think it's about 99.9 percent in this beautiful arena.”
He took to the stage with the Village People and performed their song “YMCA” live. The song became part of the unofficial soundtrack of Trump's campaign, as he repeatedly used it at his rallies.
Trump will not be sworn in until noon Monday. But his return to Washington began in earnest on Sunday, once again with a day of ceremonial and political events aimed at highlighting his remarkable rise to the seat of American power.
For Trump, the rally was an opportunity to speak to his supporters in the language they love. His casual, sometimes rambling reviews of his accomplishments were filled with attacks on his opponents (journalists, Democrats, immigrants, moderate Republicans). and foreign leaders.
Trump called Tesla billionaire Elon Musk and asked him to talk about future efforts to cut government spending and regulation. He vowed to end diversity efforts across the country. He then showed a video detailing deadly attacks on Americans by illegal immigrants.
“The border security measures I will outline in my inaugural address tomorrow will be the most aggressive and sweeping efforts to restore our borders the world has ever seen,” Trump told a raucous crowd. I swore to
“Illegal immigration will be stopped once and for all,” he said. “We will not be invaded. We will not be occupied, we will not be overrun, we will not be conquered. We will be a free and proud nation again, and that will happen tomorrow at 12 o'clock.”
He also said that confidential records regarding the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as other topics of public interest, would be released “in the coming days.” said. Everything will be released. ”
It's unclear what exactly Trump is saying. It was a repeat of a promise he made eight years ago and never quite fulfilled.
His speeches were filled with misleading or exaggerated claims that he often made during his campaign. At one point Sunday, the president-elect claimed he won the youth vote by a 36-point margin. In fact, exit polls show that while young voters did shift toward Trump, Trump lost most categories of young voters to Harris.
The day before he took his second oath of office, Trump hosted a private breakfast with Republican senators at Blair House. Blair House is a 19th century mansion located across the street from the White House that is often used as a presidential guesthouse. by world leaders.
He then visited Arlington National Cemetery to pay his respects to fallen American servicemen. At the cemetery, the president-elect laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown, a solemn ceremony that is tradition for presidents just before the inauguration.
Wearing a long coat and gloves in cold, rainy weather, Trump was assisted by cemetery service members as he lifted a large wreath and placed it on an easel at the grave. He stood silently for a moment, and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance did the same.
After the wreaths were laid, soldiers played “Taps,” the sound of which echoed throughout the sacred cemetery.
Mr. Trump, Mr. Vance and their spouses met for more than 30 minutes with the families of soldiers killed at the gates of a monastery in Kabul during the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
A cold rain fell as I walked from gravestone to gravestone in Section 60, where many U.S. veterans who died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. Trump placed what looked like a gold-colored challenge coin on each gravestone. Mrs. Trump and Mrs. Vance had lilies. Mrs. Trump placed them at each cemetery.
The rally, held a few blocks from the National Mall, was his first such speech in Washington since the November election. The president-elect ended his day by attending a candlelit dinner with his supporters.
The busy schedule is a harbinger of what Trump's aides promise will be an intense day of activity on Monday, including his inaugural address and a flurry of executive orders and presidential actions on immigration and other areas. It was.
Frigid weather forecast disrupted the choreography and rhythm of Monday's first event. Mr. Trump's inaugural address was moved inside the Capitol and the traditional parade was canceled, leaving empty bleachers for dignitaries across from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, which took months to construct. It will become.
But Trump's aides are rushing to rewrite the script. Trump is scheduled to return to Capital One Arena on Monday after taking office, and his aides are considering whether to have him sign some executive orders from a desk on the podium.
Even before Sunday's event, Trump began his day with a social media post, as he often did during his time as the 45th president.
“The hostages are starting to come out today!” he wrote on his Truth Social site, referring to the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The agreement calls for the release of the hostages, which began on Sunday. He praised the release of “three wonderful young women”.
The fate of TikTok was also on Trump's mind. In a post on Truth Social on Sunday morning, he said he would sign an executive order on Monday giving an extension to continue functioning for Chinese-owned apps that ceased operating in the United States under a ban that took effect Sunday. .
Trump has made it clear that he wants the app to be up and running during the inauguration and related events, but wrote that tech companies are not responsible for keeping the app up and running until Trump is inaugurated. Shortly after that, the app started flickering and came back to life.
