WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump was on the verge of returning to office. But first, he wanted to take a victory lap over his election win.
“We won,” he said as he opened the rally in Washington at Capital One Arena. “What a good feeling. We like winning, don’t we?”
Trump said executive orders he’s planning to sign on Inauguration Day would make his fans “extremely happy” and there would be “lots of them” on his first day in office, alluding later to a pledge to pardon Jan. 6 defendants.
“Tomorrow will be the most aggressive, sweeping effort to restore our borders the world has ever seen,” Trump said, previewing actions his administration is planning to take, including mass deportations.
He told his supporters: “We have to set our country on the proper course. By the time the sun sets tomorrow evening, the invasion of our borders will have come to a halt.”
Trump also said he would save TikTok and “act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis” facing the country. He pledged to declassify documents related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. and instruct the U.S. military to begin building an Iron Dome, like the one that is used to protect Israel from missiles.
“And as of today, TikTok is back,” he said to cheers, crediting the platform with his performance among young voters. Trump later brought X owner Elon Musk on stage. He said he spoke to Tim Cook of Apple earlier in the day.
For many of Trump’s supporters, the rally already on the books would be the only time they’d see the soon-to-be president in person over the holiday weekend. His inauguration was moved indoors due to cold weather.
Trump attended a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery before the event. He arrived in Washington on Saturday and later attended a fireworks show at his Sterling, Virginia, golf property.
His rally on Sunday had an eclectic lineup, with rapper Kid Rock performing and Puerto Rican rappers Anuel AA and Justin Quiles and actor Jon Voight, serving as opening acts.
“A lot of people were against us once we spoke for Trump,” Anuel AA said of his endorsement of Trump, which he stood by after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made disparaging remarks about Puerto Rico that led to bipartisan backlash.
The rapper said attempts to “dirty” the president-elect’s image were “all in vain” based on the outcome of the election.
“I know this four years is going to be one hell of a run. I know he’s going to do a lot of great things for the whole Spanish community,” he said.
Trump adviser and incoming deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller delivered a red-hot speech about the administration’s plans to curb illegal immigration. He told the crowd that on Monday, the incoming president would issue an executive order “ending the border invasion, sending illegals home” that would also lead to the”eradication of the criminal cartels and the foreign gangs.”
“Accountability is coming. Justice is coming,” Miller said. “The whole federal bureaucracy is about to learn that they don’t work for themselves —they work for you, they work for President Trump, and they work for the American people.”
Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly spent several minutes criticizing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. She told the crowd that Harris “pretended that she was smart” and accused her of having a fake set of accents, including a “fake Jamaican accent” and a disingenuous “preacher accent” that she mocked as she assailed Trump’s election opponent.
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The rally took place hours after the first wave of Israeli hostages, three women, were released by Hamas as part of an agreement that the Biden administration negotiated for months and has acknowledged it worked with Trump’s team to get across the finish line.
Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East said from the stage that he’d just received photos of the released hostages.
“We had a great team. But it doesn’t happen without Donald J. Trump. The president was responsible for this release. And we all owe him a debt of gratitude,” Steve Witkoff said, taking the opportunity to make sure Trump received credit for the deal.
The upper deck of the 20,000-seat multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena was not full when Trump took the stage despite long lines around the building. Trump supporters inside the venue said they waited as early as 4 a.m. local time to get into the rally, while others had a shorter line of half an hour.
Oregon resident Liz Veysey, a 67-year-old retired federal worker, said she arrived at the arena at about 5:45 a.m. with two sisters and a granddaughter. She said she was a longtime, registered Democrat who had never been to a Trump rally. She wore an inauguration day sweatshirt, two campaign buttons, and a pair of red, white, and blue star-shaped glasses.
“I wish I had done it before. But, you know, sometimes travel is not always an option. Nobody ever comes to Oregon,” Veysey said.
She’d planned to attend the inauguration with her family before it was moved indoors at the U.S. Capitol. After her plans fell through, she said, they decided to attend Trump’s rally.
Trump supporter Kenny Oakes, 69, traveled to Washington with his wife Andrea, 58. The economy and the price of groceries were top issues for the Sevierville, Tennessee, residents when Trump reenters office.
“I think he has a good idea of what he wants to get done, and I believe that this time, he will be much more effective because he’s sat in the seat before, and he’s had time to be away for four years and kind of, like, understands, probably some moves he made before that really didn’t pan out for him,” Kenny said. “And I think he will do the much better job of getting people around him that will actually support his initiatives.”
The retired couple said they voted for Trump in the 2016 and 2020 elections. “We voted for him Day One,” Andrea said. “Every time there’s been an opportunity to vote for Trump we have voted for him.”
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