Ahead of inauguration today, Trump to take out ‘Make America Great Again’ rally

President-elect Donald Trump will take a victory lap on Sunday with a campaign-style rally in Washington, DC, a day before he is sworn in for a second term four years after losing the White House to Joe Biden.

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Trump’s “Make America Great Again Victory Rally” — scheduled for 3 pm ET (1900 GMT) at the Capital One Arena — marks his first major speech in Washington since he urged his supporters to march on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in protest against his defeat.

Thousands of people breached the building in an unsuccessful effort to prevent Congress from certifying the results. Trump has vowed to pardon many of the more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the attack.

His rally remarks, along with his inaugural address 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 disconcerted foreign allies by musing aloud about taking over Greenland and the Panama Canal and turning Canada into a US state.

The rally is likely to resemble the free-wheeling arena speeches that have been a Trump staple since his first White House campaign in 2016.

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, who has become a close Trump confidant since spending more than $250 million to boost his campaign, is scheduled to speak at the event. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew also plans to attend the rally, amid uncertainty over whether Trump will take steps to rescue the app from a US ban set to take effect on Sunday. Chew is expected to join other tech executives at the inauguration.

Trump will also participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. In the evening, he will address well-heeled supporters at a dinner.

The inauguration is scheduled for noon ET (1600 GMT) on Monday, when Trump will take the presidential oath of office inside the rotunda of the Capitol building, after the cold weather prompted organizers to move the ceremony indoors.

When Trump walks into the White House Monday afternoon soon after his swearing-in, 100 plus executive orders would be waiting for him on his Oval Office Desk, which his team has prepared for him to kickoff his second term without wasting any minute.

These executive orders are mainly aimed at fulfilling his poll promises. In an interview to NBC news, Trump said he is planning to sign a “record-setting” number of executive actions on day one. “Well, at least in that category,” Trump said when asked if these executive orders would be more than 100.

An executive order is an order issued unilaterally by the president who carries the force of law. Unlike legislation, executive orders do not require Congressional approval. Though Congress cannot overturn them, they can be challenged in the court of law.

“We have a record-setting number of documents that I’ll be signing right after this (inauguration) speech,” Trump said.

One of his close associates Stephen Miller told a news channel that these would mainly be around five topics: sealing the Southern border, mass deportation, preventing transgender people from women’s sports, removing restrictions on energy exploration and improving government efficiency.

Trump is also expected to roll back some of the executive orders and actions of the outgoing President Joe Biden. Prominent among them include the Paris Climate agreement, lifting restrictions on fossil fuel production and expanding domestic oil drilling.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden is spending his final full day in office in South Carolina. He and his wife were scheduled to visit Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston to worship and speak on the legacy of the Martin Luther King Jr, the White House said.

Protesters gather in Washington DC

Thousands of people have gathered in Washington to protest against Trump’s policies ahead of his inauguration. A coalition of nonprofit bodies, including Sakhi for South Asian Survivors, under the banner of People’s March, held the demonstration here to protest against the policies of Trump. The People’s March — previously known as the Women’s March — has taken place every year since 2017. Displaying anti-Trump posters and banner, the protestors also raised slogans against some of his close supporters including Elon Musk. There were a series of three protests which started from three different parks and culminated near the Lincoln Memorial.