By James Oliphant
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – On the eve of his inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump held a campaign rally in frigid Washington where he and his supporters celebrated his victory.
Here are some takeaways from Trump’s remarks on Sunday:
QUICKLY OUT OF THE GATE
As he has been hinting for weeks, Trump is expected to sign a flurry of executive actions on Monday to make good on his campaign promises.
“The American people have placed 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 a presidency in American history,” Trump said.
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, among other things, border security, mass deportations, rolling back government diversity initiatives, pardoning those charged in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, increasing oil and gas production and replacing thousands of career government bureaucrats.
Trump vowed to rescind “every radical and stupid executive order from the Biden administration” within hours of taking office.
Trump and other speakers at the rally said Trump was given a clear mandate to carry out his plans.
Although Trump criticized his predecessor’s record, he largely avoided lambasting previous rally speeches. It was perhaps a preview of the tone Trump will try to set during his inaugural address on Monday.
RALLY BREAKS WITH TRADITION
The existence of the rally itself was unusual.
Traditionally, with a new president, campaign rhetoric gives way to more substantive conversations. The language of transition typically focuses on handoffs between administrations.
But the crowd on Capital one (NYSE:) arena was indistinguishable from anything at Trump’s previous campaign rallies: men and women in red MAGA hats, Trump-emblazoned shirts and American flag insignia.
And the speakers who took the stage often spoke at previous events: Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, longtime Trump adviser Stephen Miller, and two of Trump’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric.
Trump also recycled many of his campaign soundbites on border security and crime and played campaign videos on the arena screens.
As the campaign came to an end, Trump complained that his rallies were canceled. Therefore, Sunday’s event was a kind of nostalgic thank you to his supporters.
“We will all be sworn in together. That’s how I see it,” Trump cheered.
A COMPARISON
Sunday’s scene will likely stand in striking contrast to Monday’s ceremonial swearing-in 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 will be present. Their companies and many others donated millions to Trump’s inaugural fund.
Trump wants to fill his government with billionaires, including Musk, the world’s richest man who will spearhead his government efficiency efforts, trade candidate Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary-elect Scott Bessent and education candidate Linda McMahon.
The official balls where Trump will give a speech on Monday evening are by invitation only and are likely to be attended by major donors and the US corporate elite.
Tensions between populist MAGA supporters and Trump’s corporate allies have already emerged over issues such as H1-B visas, a visa program for foreign tech workers and TikTok, and could worsen as Trump sets his near-term priorities.
Is there room for them all under Trump’s tent? We’ll find out soon.
CO-PRESIDENT MUSK?
Musk has been at Trump’s side since his election victory in November, so it was no surprise when Trump asked him to come on stage during the rally to cheers from the MAGA faithful.
“We’re looking forward to making a lot of changes, and this win is really the beginning,” said Musk, who will lead Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
But Musk’s advisory role could extend beyond that mandate.
He will likely work with Trump’s White House candidates like Russell Vought and James Sherk to shrink the size of the federal government while replacing thousands of career employees with Trump’s hand-picked political appointees.
As was appropriate, Musk was called to the stage by Trump as a speaker, but JD Vance, who will be sworn in as vice president on Monday, was not.
As it was, Trump seemed unsure of where Vance was in the arena.
“Wherever the hell he is,” Trump said, looking around. “He’s here somewhere.”
