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President-elect Donald J. Trump held a pride-filled, campaign-style rally in Washington’s downtown square on the night of his second inauguration, celebrating his election victory and vowing to to advance his agenda despite what he calls “failed and corrupt politics. construction” in the nation’s capital.
The speech at Capital One Arena down the street from the White House was typical Trump. In remarks full of exaggeration and outright lies, the president-elect railed against illegal immigration, boasted about the swing state he won last November, and insulted President Biden.
“Tomorrow at noon, the curtain closes on four years of American decline, and we begin a new day of American strength and prosperity, dignity and pride,” the president-elect said, and he added that Mr. Biden had led “a. failed administration. We won’t take it anymore.”
The rally was a break from tradition for presidents, who have sought to save their comments for the official inauguration speech, to be held shortly after taking the oath of office with the observer of the world.
In one of the most anticipated moves, Mr. Trump has hinted that he will pardon many of the people convicted of attacking the Capitol on January 6 four years ago.
“Tomorrow, everyone in this great square will be very happy with my decision on the J6 hostages,” he said, using his preferred term for those convicted of the attack. “You’ll be very happy. I’d say about 99.9 percent here.”
The Village People joined him on stage for a live performance of their song “YMCA,” which has become part of Mr. Trump’s unofficial campaign soundtrack due to his repeated use of it on rally he did.
Mr. Trump will not take office until noon on Monday. But his return to Washington began in earnest on Sunday, with a full day of religious and political events designed to cement his extraordinary rise — again — to the seat of American power.
For Mr. Trump, the rally is an opportunity to speak to his supporters in the language they love most: a retelling and sometimes messy retelling of his own achievements, full of attacks on his enemies – newspapers, Democrats, immigrants, moderate Republicans. and foreign leaders.
Mr. Trump called Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of Tesla, to discuss future efforts to reduce government spending and regulations. He vowed to stop various efforts across the country. And he showed a video detailing the deadly attacks by undocumented immigrants on Americans.
“The border security measures that I will write in tomorrow’s inaugural address will be the most aggressive effort to restore our borders that the world has seen,” Mr. Trump vowed before the the noisy crowd.
“We will stop illegal immigration once and for all,” he added. “We will not be attacked. not to be conquered, not to be conquered, not to be defeated. We will be a free and proud country again and it will be held tomorrow at 12 o’clock”.
He also said he would release classified records related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. “in the coming days,” “and other topics of great public interest.” All this will be released.”
It is unclear exactly what Mr. Trump is talking about. It’s a repeat of the promise he made eight years ago and it wasn’t completely fulfilled.
A day before his second inauguration, Mr. Trump hosted a private breakfast with Republican senators at the Blair House, the 19th-century building across from the White House that serves as a private hotel for of the president, which is often used. by world leaders.
He then went to Arlington National Cemetery to pay his respects to fallen American service members. The president-elect laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in a somber ceremony that has become a presidential tradition before their inauguration.
Wearing a coat and gloves in the cold and rainy weather, Mr. Trump lifted the large wreath, helped by a cemetery service worker, and placed it on an easel at the cemetery. He stood quietly for a moment before JD Vance made the Vice President-elect.
After laying the wreaths, a soldier played “Taps”, the sound that echoes in the holy tomb.
For more than half an hour, Mr. Trump, Mr. Vance and their wives spoke with the families of service members who were killed at the gates of the Abbey in Kabul during the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. .
A heavy rain fell as they walked from one grave to another in Section 60, where many American soldiers who have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. Mr. Trump placed what appeared to be a gold-colored challenge coin on each tablet. Mrs. Trump and Mrs. Vance carried lilies. Mrs. Trump placed them at each grave.
The rally was held on the National Mall, his first such speech in Washington since the November election. The president-elect ended his day with a dinner with supporters.
The busy schedule is a prelude to what Mr Trump’s aides have promised will be a busy day of action on Monday, including his inaugural address and a flurry of executive orders and events. the president on immigration and other areas.
The cold weather forecast pushed the choreography and cadence of Monday’s opening act. Mr Trump’s inaugural address at the Capitol was moved indoors and the traditional parade was cancelled, meaning the dignitaries across from the White House will remain empty. the Pennsylvania Avenue, which took several months to build.
But Mr. Trump’s aides are rushing to rewrite the script. Mr. Trump plans to return to the Capital One Arena on Monday, when he becomes president, and his aides are considering whether to sign some of the executive orders from the office placed on stage.
Even before his Sunday event, Mr. Trump as the 45th president: in social media posts.
“The hostages start coming out today!” he wrote on his website Truth Social, discussing the implementation of the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The agreement called for the release of the hostages which began on Sunday. He welcomed the release of the “three wonderful young women”.
The fate of TikTok was also in Mr. Trump’s mind. He said in an article by Truth Social on Sunday morning that he will sign an executive order on Monday to give the Chinese app, which has stopped working in the United States due to the ban that took effect on Sunday, an extension of its operation. .
Mr. Trump, who has made it clear that he wants the app running during his inauguration and related events, wrote that no one would be responsible for the tech companies that keep the app active until he arrives. After a while, the app started moving again.
