By Steve Holland and Tim Reid
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump will take a victory lap on Sunday with a campaign-style rally in Washington, DC, a day before being sworn in for a second term four years after losing the White House to Joe Biden.
Trump’s “Make America Great Again” Victory Rally – scheduled for 3:00 PM ET (7:00 PM GMT) at Capital one (NYSE:) Arena – marks his first major speech in Washington since he called on his supporters to march on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to protest his defeat.
Thousands of people stormed the building in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the results. Trump has promised to pardon many of the more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the attack.
His speech at the rally, along with his inauguration speech on Monday, could offer a preview of the tone he plans to adopt in the early days of his second term in office. In recent weeks, Trump has confounded foreign allies by talking loudly about taking over Greenland and the Panama Canal and turning Canada into a US state.
The rally is likely to resemble the open-air arena speeches that have been a staple of Trump’s since his first campaign for the White House in 2016.
The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, who has become a close confidant of Trump since spending more than $250 million to boost his campaign, is scheduled to speak at the event, along with Vice President-elect JD Vance, Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, a conservative activist Charlie Kirk and conservative commentator Megyn Kelly.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew also plans to attend the rally, amid uncertainty over whether Trump will take steps to save the app from a US ban set to take effect on Sunday. Chew is expected to join other tech executives at Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
Singer and rapper Kid Rock, disco group The Village People, singer Billy Ray Cyrus and singer Lee Greenwood are scheduled to perform at the rally.
President Joe Biden, meanwhile, will take his final official trip as president on Sunday to Charleston, South Carolina, to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is Monday, the White House said. He will attend services and speak about King’s legacy at the Royal Missionary Baptist Church.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. In the evening, he will address wealthier supporters at a dinner in Washington.
The inauguration is scheduled for noon ET (16:00 GMT) on Monday, when Trump will take the presidential oath inside the rotunda of the Capitol building, after cold weather forced organizers to move the ceremony indoors. Approximately 25,000 members of the police force will be on hand to provide security.
