U.S. president-elect Donald Trump used one last rally on the eve of his inauguration to again celebrate his election victory, declaring Sunday, “We won” to a crowd celebrating his return to the White House and projecting defiant optimism despite deep national political divisions.
“Tomorrow, at noon, the curtain closes on four long years of American decline, and we begin a brand-new day of American strength and prosperity, dignity and pride,” Trump told supporters, adding, “We not only won a mandate, but we built a new American majority that will lead our country to success for generations to come.”
Supporters filled nearly all of the 20,000-plus-seat Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., to hear a performance by Kid Rock, who performed All Summer Long, despite a cold mix of rain and snow falling outside. Others taking the stage included singer Lee Greenwood, whose God Bless the USAÂ was the anthem of Trump’s re-election campaign.
“Our hero. A man who never gave up on the American people, and we the people never gave up on him,” actor Jon Voight told the crowd.
Stephen Miller, Trump’s pick to be deputy chief of staff and a key architect of the administration’s promised hard-line immigration polices, vowed that “justice is coming.”
“We are about to get our country back and our democracy back,” Miller said, adding, “Donald J. Trump is about to save this country.”
Trump has promised to sign a series of executive actions, including on U.S.-Mexico border policy. Sunday was his first full day back in Washington and gave the president-elect a chance to energize core supporters before the official pomp of Inauguration Day.
Trump had breakfast privately with Republican senators at Blair House, the president’s official guest residence, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, and later posed for a picture with the 10 Republican female senators and his incoming chief-of-staff, Susie Wiles.
Unlike when Trump helped spark a mob of his supporters to attack the Capitol and tried to retain power in 2021 after his loss to Democrat Joe Biden, officials did not expect massive protests, unrest or violence. Instead, jubilant crowds celebrated Trump’s second term and MAGA’s total control of the Republican Party.
U.S president-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration on Jan. 20 caps a two-week stretch of national special security events. ‘This has never happened before,’ said Matt McCool, the U.S. Secret Service special agent in charge of the Washington field office.’But we’re flexible and adaptable.… We’re going to be prepared.’
Many arrived from around the country and were decked out in their fanciest clothes, including fur coats. Trump supporters filled parties at hotels and restaurants around Washington. As they moved between the festivities, some could be heard chanting “MAGA” or simply stating it as a greeting to fellow revellers.
The atmosphere was a remarkable turnaround from four years ago, when Trump left the nation’s capital in disgrace and skipped the inauguration of his successor. He blasted his way through the 2024 Republican presidential primary and won in November with an electoral college margin unseen since Barack Obama was re-elected in 2012.
Yet even with that comfortable victory and his party in full — albeit narrow — control of Congress, the incoming president is one of the most polarizing figures in U.S. history, with nearly as many fierce detractors as ardent supporters. That means it could be difficult for Trump to fulfil post-election pledges to promote bipartisanship while healing political differences.
He has insisted that unity will be a theme of his inauguration speech on Monday, along with strength and fairness, but he also spent months as a candidate saying that if elected, he would seek retribution against political enemies.
“January 20th cannot come fast enough!,” Trump posted on his social media site. “Everybody, even those that initially opposed a Victory by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration, just want it to happen.”
With frigid temperatures expected Monday, Trump directed most of Monday’s outdoor events to be moved indoors, and officials held a rehearsal on Sunday for his swearing-in in the U.S. Capitol’s Rotunda, which holds only 600 people compared to the 250,000-plus guests who had tickets to view the inauguration from around the Capitol grounds.