‘We won’: Trump takes victory lap, sets goals at inauguration rally
US President-elect Donald Trump used his final pre-inauguration rally to re-celebrate his election victory, declaring “We won” to a crowd celebrating his return to the White House on Sunday and showing 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. “.
Fans packed nearly all of the 20,000-seat Capital One Arena in Washington to hear Kid Rock perform. All summer longdespite the cold mix of snow and rain outside. Singer Lee Greenwood is among the performers God bless the USA Trump’s re-election campaign anthem.
“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 for deputy chief of staff and a key architect of the administration’s promised tough immigration policies, vowed that “justice is imminent.”
“We’re about to take back our country and our democracy,” Miller said, adding, “Donald J. Trump is about to save this country.”
Trump promised to sign a number of executive measures, including the US-Mexico border policy. Sunday was his first full day in Washington, giving the president-elect a chance to energize his core supporters before the official pomp of Inauguration Day.
Trump had a one-on-one breakfast with Republican senators at Blair House, the president’s official guest residence, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, and then posed for photos with 10 female Republican senators and his new chief of staff, Susie Wiles.
Unlike when Trump helped spark a mob of supporters to storm the Capitol and try to hold on to power after losing to Democrat Joe Biden in 2021, officials did not expect mass protests, riots or violence. Instead, the jubilant crowd celebrated Trump’s second term and MAGA’s total control of the Republican Party.
The second inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump on January 20 includes two weeks of special national security measures. “This has never happened before,” said Matt McCool, special agent in charge of the US Secret Service’s Washington field office.
Many came from all over the country and wore their most fashionable clothes, including fur coats. Trump supporters packed parties at hotels and restaurants around Washington. As they moved through the festivities, some could be heard chanting “MAGA” or simply greeting the revelers.
The atmosphere was a marked turnaround four years ago, when Trump left the nation’s capital in disgrace and skipped the inauguration of his successor. He was successful in the 2024 primary for the Republican presidential nomination, winning in November by an electoral college margin not seen since the 2012 re-election of Barack Obama.
Yet despite this comfortable victory and his party’s complete control of Congress, the new president is one of the most polarizing figures in US history, with detractors as fierce as his ardent supporters. That means it may be difficult for Trump to fulfill his post-election promises to promote bipartisanship while healing political divisions.
He insisted that strength and justice would be the theme of his inaugural address on Monday, but he spent months as a candidate saying he would take revenge on political enemies if elected.
“January 20 can’t come soon enough!”, Trump wrote on his social media page. “Everyone, even those who initially opposed President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration’s Victory, just wants it to happen.”
With cold weather expected on Monday, Trump ordered most outdoor events to be moved indoors on Monday, and officials held a swearing-in rehearsal in the Rotunda, which held just 600 people compared to more than 250,000 guests at the U.S. Congress on Sunday. Tickets to view the inauguration from around the Capitol grounds.
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