James Oliphant
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ahead of his inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump held a campaign-style rally in frigid Washington where he and his supporters celebrated his victory.
Here are some takeaways from Trump’s remarks on Sunday:
QUICK OUT OF THE GATE
As he has announced for weeks, Trump is expected to sign a series of executive actions on Monday to fulfill his campaign promises.
“The American people have put their trust in us, and in return we will give them the best first day, the greatest first week and the most extraordinary first 100 days of any presidency in American history,” Trump said.
A source familiar with the plan confirmed that Trump is preparing to sign more than 200 executive actions on Monday.
The orders are expected to cover border security, mass deportations, repeal of government diversity initiatives, a Jan. 6, 2021, pardon for those charged in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, increased oil and gas production and the replacement of thousands of career government bureaucrats, among other policy items.
Trump vowed to rescind “every radical and stupid executive order of the Biden administration” hours after taking office.
Trump and other speakers at the rally said Trump had been given a clear mandate to carry out his plans.
Although critical of his predecessor’s record, Trump has largely avoided name-calling in past rally speeches. It was perhaps a preview of the tone Trump will try to set Monday during his inaugural address.
RALLY BREAKS TRADITION
The very existence of the rally was unusual.
Traditionally with a new president, campaign rhetoric gives way to more substantive conversations. Transition language usually focuses on the handover between administrations.
But the crowd on Capital one (NYSE:) The arena was no different from any of Trump’s previous campaigns: men and women dressed in red MAGA hats, shirts emblazoned with Trump and the American flag.
Speakers who took the stage have often spoken at previous events: Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, longtime Trump associate Stephen Miller and two of Trump’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric.
Trump also recycled many of his campaign clips on border security and crime and played campaign videos on arena screens.
As the campaign wound down, Trump lamented that his rallies were disappearing. So Sunday’s event was a kind of nostalgic thank you to his supporters.
“We’re all going to be sworn in together. That’s the way I look at it,” Trump said to cheers.
JUXTAPOSITION
Sunday’s scene is likely to stand in stark contrast to Monday’s rare swearing-in event at the U.S. Capitol, where tech all-stars such as Tesla’s Elon Musk, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s (NASDAQ: ) Sundar Pichai are expected to be in attendance. Their companies and many others donated millions to Trump’s inaugural fund.
Trump intends to fill his administration with billionaires, including Musk, the world’s richest man, who will lead his government efficiency efforts, trade nominee Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary-elect Scott Bessent and education nominee Linda McMahon.
The official balls at which Trump is scheduled to speak Monday night are invitation-only and likely to be packed with megadonors and America’s corporate elite.
Tensions between populist MAGA advocates and Trump’s corporate allies have already shown on issues such as H1-B visas, the foreign tech worker visa program and TikTok, and could deepen as Trump identifies his near-term priorities.
Is there room under the Trump tent for them all? We’ll find out soon enough.
VICE PRESIDENT MUSK?
Musk has been by Trump’s side since he won the election in November, so it was no surprise when Trump asked him to come on stage during the rally to the cheers of the MAGA faithful.
“We’re looking forward to making a lot of changes, and this win is just the beginning,” said Musk, who will chair Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
But Musk’s advisory role could extend beyond that mandate.
He is likely to work with Trump’s White House appointees, such as Russell Vought and James Sherk, to shrink the size of the federal government, while also replacing thousands of career employees with hand-picked Trump political staffers.
As befits his status, Trump invited Trump to the stage to speak, while JD Vance, who will be sworn in as vice president on Monday, was not.
Trump seemed unsure of where Vance was in the arena.
“Wherever he was,” Trump said, looking back. “He’s around here somewhere.”
