President-elect Donald Trump consulted privately with Republican senators on Sunday (January 19, 2025) before heading off to a series of events designed to celebrate his return to power and the “Make America Great Again” movement, despite deep national political divisions on the eve of his inauguration.
The private meeting featured a breakfast at Blair House, the president’s official guest residence, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, and gave top GOP leaders a chance to lay last-minute plans barely 24 hours before Mr. Trump moves back into the White House.
Meanwhile, Trump supporters, many arriving from around the country and decked out in their fanciest clothes, including fur coats, filled parties — both formal and informal — at hotels and restaurants close to the White House. As they moved between the festivities, some could be heard chanting “MAGA” or simply stating it as a greeting to fellow revelers.
Sunday is Trump’s first full day back in Washington since his election victory and gives him a chance to fire up his core supporters before the official pomp of Inauguration Day, including the swearing-in at noon.
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The nation’s capital has prepared in unprecedented ways to keep the events safe and secure. But unlike when Mr. Trump helped spark a mob of his supporters to attack the Capitol and tried to retain power in 2021 after his loss to Democrat Joe Biden, officials are not expecting massive protests, unrest or violence. Instead, the city is braced for crowds celebrating Trump’s second term and MAGA’s total control of the Republican Party.
It is a remarkable turnaround from four years ago, when Mr. Trump left the nation’s capital in disgrace and skipped the inauguration of his successor. He blasted his way through the 2024 GOP presidential primary and won in November with an Electoral College margin unseen since Barack Obama was reelected in 2012.
Yet even with that comfortable victory and his party in full — albeit narrow — control of Congress, the incoming president remains one of the most polarizing figures in U.S. history, with nearly as many fierce detractors as ardent supporters. That means it could be difficult for Trump to fulfill postelection pledges to promote bipartisanship while healing political differences.
The president-elect has insisted that unity will be a theme of his inauguration speech Monday, along with strength and fairness, but he also spent months as a candidate saying that if elected he would seek retribution against political enemies.
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“January 20th cannot come fast enough!,” Mr. Trump posted on his social media site. “Everybody, even those that initially opposed a Victory by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration, just want it to happen.”
With frigid temperatures expected Monday, Mr. Trump directed his oath of office and most of Monday’s outdoor events to be moved indoors. Officials held a rehearsal Sunday inside the U.S. Capitol. But because the Rotunda holds only 600 people, it was unclear if the 250,000-plus guests who had tickets to view the inauguration from around the Capitol grounds would have any opportunity to watch.
Large viewing screens that were erected around the National Mall were taken down, although Trump said there would be word on alternative, indoor locations for viewing the ceremonies. The traditional parade was to be held, in some form, at Capital One Arena, home to Washington’s pro basketball and hockey teams and where Trump was planning to address a MAGA rally later Sunday.
Meanwhile, national and global events drew some of Trump’s attention Sunday. He took to his social media site to comment on the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the U.S. ban on TikTok.
“Hostages starting to come out today! Three wonderful young women will be first,” Mr. Trump wrote.
Overnight, millions of U.S. users of TikTok lost the ability to watch videos on the social media platform as a federal ban on the app took effect. Though the site later began flickering to life for some users, the disruptions reflected a new law requiring its China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest for national security reasons.
The company made a personal appeal to Mr. Trump to intervene, posting a message saying, “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.”
Mr. Trump subsequently posted, “I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!” He promised to issue an executive order Monday “to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security.”
The president-elect also wrote that he was interested in the U.S. owning 50% of TikTok in a “joint venture” model, though he did not offer much detail on what that would look like. Incoming national security adviser Michael Waltz insisted that Trump could find a solution by Monday.
“I think we should all be confident that he can craft that kind of a deal,” Mr. Waltz told CBS’ ”Face the Nation.” He also noted that Mr. Trump discussed TikTok on a weekend call with Chinese President Xi Jinping and they “agreed to work together on this.”
“What we need between now and Monday is to buy the president some time to evaluate those deals,” Mr. Waltz said. “And if it goes dark, that’s going to be, obviously, extremely problematic.”
After meeting with senators, Mr. Trump headed to snow-covered graves at Arlington National Cemetery, where he and Vice President-elect JD Vance — each wearing dark overcoats and red ties — walked together to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for a wreath-laying ceremony that included the playing of taps. Trump mouthed “thank you” after placing the wreath.
The ceremony was also attended by his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., his daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, and other relatives.
Many of Mr. Trump’s picks for the incoming administration’s Cabinet also stood quietly by. They included his choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio and Tulsi Gabbard, the choice for director of national intelligence, as well as Mr. Trump’s announced ambassador to the United Nations, Elise Stefanik. Several medal of honor recipients were also there, wearing their medals.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance later spent nearly half an hour in Section 60, the burial site for military personnel killed while fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, talking with families of three soldiers who died in the 2021 Kabul airport bombing, as well as a fourth whom they did not identify.
The scene was far different than in August, when two Trump campaign staff members reportedly verbally “abused and pushed” aside a cemetery official who tried to stop them from filming and photographing in Section 60.
Published – January 20, 2025 04:06 am IST
