Written by James Oliphant
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – On the eve 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 comments on Sunday:
Quick exit from the gate
As he has been indicating for weeks, Trump is expected to sign a torrent of executive actions on Monday to fulfill his campaign promises.
Trump said: “The American people have given us their trust, and in return, we will give them the best first day, the greatest first week, and the most extraordinary 100 days of any presidency in American history.”
A source familiar with the planning confirmed that Trump is preparing to sign more than 200 executive actions on Monday.
The orders are expected to cover border security, mass deportations, rolling back government diversity initiatives, pardoning those accused in the January 6, 2021 US Capitol attack, boosting oil and gas production, and replacing thousands of serving government bureaucrats, among other policy items.
Trump pledged to rescind “every radical and foolish executive order of the Biden administration” within hours of assuming the presidency.
Trump and other speakers at the rally said Trump was given a clear mandate to carry out his plans.
Despite his criticism of his predecessor's record, Trump has largely avoided name-calling in his previous rally speeches. Perhaps this was just a preview of the tone Trump will try to take on Monday during his inaugural address.
The rally breaks tradition
The existence of the assembly itself was unusual.
Traditionally with a new president, campaign rhetoric leads to more substantive conversations. Transition language usually focuses on handover between departments.
But the crowd is in Capital One (NYSE:) The arena was indistinguishable from any other previous Trump campaign events: men and women wearing red MAGA hats, T-shirts emblazoned with Trump and American flag emblems.
Speakers who have taken the stage at previous events have frequently spoken: Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, longtime Trump aide Stephen Miller, and two of Trump's sons, Donald Jr. and Eric.
Trump also recycled several campaign audio clips about border security and crime, and played campaign videos on arena screens.
With the end of the election campaign, Trump expressed his regret that his rallies had stopped. 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 spectacle will likely stand in striking juxtaposition with Monday's unique swearing-in event at the US Capitol, where tech stars like Tesla's Elon Musk, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai are all expected to be in attendance. (NASDAQ:) are expected. To be present. Their companies and many others donated millions to Trump's inaugural fund.
Trump aims to stuff his administration with billionaires, including Musk, the world's richest man, who will head government efficiency efforts, trade nominee Howard Lutnick, Treasury secretary nominee Scott Besent, and education nominee Linda McMahon.
The state parties where Trump is expected to speak on Monday night are invitation-only and will likely be packed with big donors and America's corporate elite.
Tension between populist MAGA hardliners and Trump's corporate allies has already shown itself on issues like H1-B visas, the visa program for foreign tech workers, and TikTok, and may deepen as Trump lays out his near-term priorities.
Is there a place under Trump's tent for everyone? We'll find out soon.
Co-Chairman Musk?
Musk has been at Trump's side since he won the election in November, so it was no surprise when Trump asked him to get on stage during the rally to the cheers of the MAGA faithful.
“We're looking to make a lot of changes, and this victory is really the beginning,” said Musk, who will head Trump's Administration for Government Efficiency.
But Musk's advisory role may extend beyond this mandate.
He will likely work with Trump White House appointees such as Russell Vought and James Sherk to shrink the size of the federal government while replacing thousands of career employees with political staffers handpicked by Trump.
As befits his stature, Trump invited Musk to the stage to speak, while J.D. Vance, who will be sworn in on Monday as vice president, was not called.
In fact, Trump seemed unsure where Vance stood on the scene.
“Where the hell is he,” Trump said, looking around. “He's here somewhere.”
