President-elect Donald J. Trump held a boastful campaign-style rally at a downtown Washington arena on the eve of his second inauguration, celebrating his election victory and vowing to advance his agenda despite what he called “a failed and corrupt political system”. establishment” in the national capital.
The speech at the Capital One Arena, down the street from the White House, was classic Trump. In remarks laced with exaggerations and outright lies, the president-elect denounced illegal immigration, boasted about the swing states he won last November and disparaged President Biden.
“Tomorrow at noon, the curtain rises on four long years of American decline and we begin a brand new day of American strength and prosperity, dignity and pride,” the president-elect said, adding that Mr. Biden was presiding “ a failing administration. We’re not going to take it anymore.
The gathering broke with tradition in which presidents have sought to save their comments for the formal inaugural address, delivered moments after taking the oath of office with the world watching.
In one of his most anticipated moves, Mr. Trump strongly hinted that he would pardon many of the people convicted of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol four years ago.
“Tomorrow, everyone in this very big arena will be very happy with my decision regarding the J6 hostages,” he said, using the term he prefers for those convicted in the attack. “You will be very, very happy. I would say about 99.9 percent in this beautiful arena.
He was joined on stage by Village People for a live performance of their song “YMCA,” which has become part of Mr. Trump’s unofficial campaign soundtrack due to its repeated use at his rallies.
Mr. Trump will not take office until Monday noon. But his return to Washington began in earnest on Sunday, with a full day of ceremonial and political events designed to highlight – once again – his remarkable rise to the seat of American power.
For Mr. Trump, the rally was an opportunity to speak to his supporters in the language they have come to love: a casual and sometimes disjointed assessment of his own accomplishments, filled with attacks on his opponents — journalists, Democrats , immigrants, moderate Republicans. and foreign leaders.
Mr. Trump called Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla, to talk about upcoming efforts to cut government spending and regulation. He pledged to end diversity efforts nationwide. And he showed video chronicling deadly attacks on Americans by undocumented immigrants.
“The border security measures I will outline tomorrow in my inaugural address will be the most aggressive and far-reaching effort the world has ever seen to restore our borders,” Mr. Trump vowed to the raucous crowd.
“We will put an end to illegal immigration once and for all,” he added. “We will not be invaded. we will not be occupied, we will not be invaded, we will not be conquered. We will once again become a free and proud nation and that will happen tomorrow at noon.”
He also said he would release “in the coming days” classified documents relating to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., “and other matters of great public interest.” . Everything will be published.
It was unclear exactly what Mr. Trump was talking about. It was a repeat of a promise he made eight years ago that he hadn’t fully kept.
His speech was filled with the kind of misleading or exaggerated claims he often made on the campaign trail. At one point on Sunday, the president-elect claimed he had won the youth vote by 36 points. In fact, exit polls showed that even as young voters shifted to Mr. Trump, he lost most categories of young voters to Ms. Harris.
A day before taking the oath of office for the second time, Mr. Trump hosted a private breakfast with Republican senators at Blair House, the 19th-century mansion across the street from the White House that serves as the president’s exclusive guesthouse , often used. by world leaders.
He then went to Arlington National Cemetery to pay tribute to fallen American service members. At the cemetery, the president-elect laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in a somber ceremony that has become a tradition for presidents just before their inauguration.
Wearing a long overcoat and gloves in rainy and cold weather, Mr. Trump lifted the large wreath, assisted by a cemetery serviceman, and placed it on an easel near the grave. He remained silent for a moment before Vice President-elect JD Vance did the same.
After the wreaths were laid, a soldier played “Taps,” the sound echoing throughout the sacred cemetery.
For more than half an hour, Mr. Trump, Mr. Vance and their wives spoke with the families of service members killed at Abbey Gate in Kabul during the evacuation of American troops from Afghanistan.
A freezing rain fell as they walked from headstone to headstone in Section 60, where many fallen U.S. veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. Mr. Trump placed what appeared to be a gold-tinted challenge coin on each of the headstones. Mrs. Trump and Mrs. Vance wore lilies. Mrs. Trump placed them on each grave.
The rally took place just blocks from the National Mall, his first such address in Washington since the November election. The president-elect ended his day by attending a candlelight dinner with his supporters.
The packed schedule was a prelude to what Mr. Trump’s aides promise will be a day of intense activity on Monday, including his inaugural address and a flurry of executive orders and presidential actions on immigration and other areas .
Forecasts of frigid weather scrambled the choreography and rhythm of Monday’s inaugural events. Mr. Trump’s inaugural address was moved indoors to the Capitol and the traditional parade was canceled, meaning the dignitaries’ viewing stand in front of the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, whose construction took months, will remain empty.
But Mr. Trump’s aides are rushing to rewrite the script. Mr. Trump plans to return to Capital One Arena on Monday after becoming president, and his aides plan to have him sign some executive orders from a desk on stage.
Even before his events on Sunday, Mr. Trump began his day as he often did when he was the 45th president: with a social media post.
“The hostages are starting to come out today!” » he wrote on his Truth Social website, referring to the implementation of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The agreement provided for the release of the hostages, which began on Sunday. He welcomed the release of “three wonderful young women”.
The fate of TikTok also concerned Mr. Trump. He said in a Truth Social article Sunday morning that he would sign an executive order on Monday granting the Chinese app, which stopped working in the United States due to a ban that took effect Sunday, an extension to continue function. .
Mr. Trump, who has made it clear that he wants the app to be operational during his inauguration and related events, wrote that there would be no liability for tech companies that keep the app active until its entry into office. Soon after, the app started to come back to life.
January 19, 2025
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An earlier version of this article misrepresented Elon Musk’s role at Tesla. He is the general manager and not its owner.
