President-elect Donald Trump celebrated the eve of his second inauguration with a rally Sunday at the Capital One Arena in downtown Washington.
“Tomorrow at noon, the curtain closes our four long years of American decline, and we begin a brand new day of American strength and prosperity, dignity and pride,” Trump said. “Once and for all, we’re going to end the reign of a failed and corrupt political establishment in Washington.”
The event before his supporters in the nation’s capital offered Trump a victory lap in the city he left four years ago under dramatically different circumstances. Trump’s first term ended in 2021 with him as a pariah to many in his own party after his supporters rioted at the US Capitol in a failed bid to keep him in power.
Speakers and performers at the event included musician Kid Rock, actor Jon Voight, and Dana White, the CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship, while billionaire supporter Elon Musk joined the president-elect on stage.
“What matters going forward is to actually make significant changes,” Musk said. “Have us submit those changes, and it will set the foundation for America to be strong for a century, for centuries, forever.”
Former congressman Madison Cawthorn and British MP Nigel Farage were among guests in attendance at the 20,000-seat arena, home to the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals.
Events on the scale of Sunday’s rally are rare for incoming presidents who generally lay low on the day before their inauguration. But Trump has long had a sense for spectacle, using his rallies to command the media spotlight and galvanize his base.
Trump used the rally to celebrate the decision by TikTok to reinstate service after pledging earlier Sunday he would use executive action to hold off a legislative ban of the social video app.
“As of today, TikTok is back!” Trump said.
But he indicated that his previous pledge for a “joint venture” might be a company co-owned by a US company and the US government, rather than Chinese-owned Bytedance Ltd. And a US partner. The Trump transition did not immediately respond to a request to clarify his intentions.
“I said, I’ll approve, but let the United States of America own 50% of Tik Tok,” Trump said. “I’m approving on behalf of the United States. So they’ll have a partner — the United States — and they’ll have a lot of bidders.”
Trump said there was no risk to taxpayers because the government was not putting up money in the deal.
Trump also said he had spoken with Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook on Sunday. Trump did not say whether he and Cook discussed TikTok during their conversation but said the Apple leader had promised “make a massive investment in the United States because of our big election win.” A representative for Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request to comment.
The president-elect reiterated his plans for a flurry of executive actions on his first day in office, pledging “be the most aggressive sweeping effort to restore our borders the world has ever seen” while “restoring transparency and accountability to government.”
“We’re going to give them the best first day, the biggest week and the most extraordinary first 100 days of any presidency in American history,” Trump said.
Sunday’s event drew parallels with an extravaganza the president-elect held in his hometown of New York at Madison Square Garden ahead of Election Day.
That gathering, which sparked controversy over an incendiary joke about Puerto Rico from a comedian on stage, also drew some of Trump’s most prominent supporters.
The rally is the centerpiece of a weekend of pre-inauguration festivities. Trump on Saturday spent the evening at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, where he was joined by his wife Melania Trump as they enjoyed a fireworks display. On Sunday, Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony.
“People are happy — it’s been a long time,” Trump said. “None of this would have been possible without you and the millions of hard working citizens who have joined our cause.”
Trump is slated to return to the Capital One Arena on Monday. The Washington region is bracing for snow and frigid temperatures, extreme weather that is forcing Trump to hold his swearing-in ceremony and to deliver his inauguration address indoors at the US Capitol Rotunda and shift the inaugural parade to the arena.
In 1985, Ronald Reagan’s second inaugural ceremony was moved indoors, with the thermometer hitting 7F at noon and afternoon wind chills as low as -20F. The next coldest January swearing-in was John F. Kennedy’s at 22F in 1961.
Trump and allies are aiming for an assertive start to his second term, with the president-elect planning a number of executive actions he is expected to unveil and sign on Monday, including on some of his top campaign pledges.
