WASHINGTON Despite severe national political differences on the eve of his inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump held private consultations with Republican senators on Sunday before departing for a series of events intended to celebrate his return to power and the Make America Great Again movement.
Top GOP leaders had the opportunity to make last-minute arrangements just 24 hours before Trump returns to the White House during the private meeting, which included breakfast at Blair House, the president’s official guest residence across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House.
Meanwhile, formal and informal parties at hotels and restaurants near the White House were packed with Trump fans, many of whom traveled from all over the nation and were dressed to the nines, including fur coats. Some were heard yelling MAGA or just saying it to other partygoers as they walked between the celebrations.
Trump has the opportunity to rally his core supporters on Sunday, his first full day back in Washington since winning the election, ahead of the formal pomp and circumstance of Inauguration Day, which includes the swearing-in at noon.
To ensure the safety and security of the events, the nation’s capital has made unprecedented preparations. However, officials are not anticipating large-scale protests, turmoil, or bloodshed, unlike in 2021 when Trump attempted to hold onto power after losing to Democrat Joe Biden and helped incite a mob of his fans to invade the Capitol. Rather, masses celebrating Trump’s second term and MAGA’s complete control of the Republican Party are expected to fill the city.
Compared to four years ago, when Trump walked out of the nation’s capital in shame and missed his successor’s inauguration, this is a stunning change. Trump won the Electoral College by a margin never seen since Barack Obama’s reelection in 2012 after blasting through the 2024 GOP presidential primary.
The incoming president is still one of the most divisive figures in American history, with almost as many fervent critics as impassioned admirers, despite that easy victory and his party’s complete but limited control of Congress. Trump may therefore find it challenging to keep his post-election promises to foster bipartisanship and reconcile party divisions.
The president-elect has stated that unity, strength, and justice will be the main themes of his inauguration speech on Monday. However, during his months as a candidate, he also stated that he would seek revenge on political rivals if elected.
Trump said, “January 20th cannot come soon enough!” on his social media page. Everyone wants President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration to win, even those who initially opposed it.
Trump ordered his oath of office and the majority of Monday’s outdoor ceremonies to be moved indoors due to the predicted cold temperatures.On Sunday, officials practiced inside the U.S. Capitol. However, it was uncertain whether the more than 250,000 people who had tickets to witness the inauguration from around the Capitol grounds would have any chance to do so because the Rotunda can only accommodate 600 people.
Trump indicated there would be news on other inside viewing spots for the festivities, but the large viewing screens that had been set up around the National Mall were pulled down. The Capital One Arena, which is home to Washington’s professional hockey and basketball teams and where Trump was scheduled to speak at a MAGA rally later Sunday, planned to host the traditional parade in some capacity.
Meanwhile, Trump was somewhat distracted by happenings on a national and international level on Sunday. He commented on the U.S. ban on TikTok and the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on his social media platform.
Today, hostages are beginning to emerge! Trump wrote, “We’ll start with three amazing young women.”
A federal ban on TikTok went into effect overnight, preventing millions of users in the United States from seeing videos on the social media site. Although some users eventually saw the service come back to life, the outages were caused by a new rule that mandated ByteDance, its parent firm based in China, divest for national security grounds.
The business sent a message stating, “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office,” in an attempt to personally persuade Trump to step in.
Trump then wrote, “I’m requesting that businesses not allow TikTok to remain dark!” In order to reach an agreement to safeguard our national security, he pledged to issue an executive order on Monday to prolong the time before the law’s prohibitions go into force.
Although he did not provide many specifics, the president-elect also stated in his letter that he was open to the United States acquiring 50% of TikTok under a joint venture model. Michael Waltz, the new national security advisor, urged Trump to come up with a solution by Monday.
Waltz said on CBS Face the Nation, “I think we should all be confident that he can craft that kind of a deal.” He added that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to collaborate on TikTok during their weekend phone conversation.
“We need to buy the president some time to assess those deals between now and Monday,” Waltz stated. And it’s going to be obviously really difficult if it goes dark.
Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, both dressed in dark overcoats and crimson ties, walked together to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for a wreath-laying ceremony that included taps playing after the senatorial meeting. Trump then proceeded to the snow-covered graves at Arlington National Cemetery. Trump placed the wreath and then mouthed a thank you.
His sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, his daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, and other family members also attended the service.
Many of Trump’s choices for the Cabinet of the next administration likewise watched in silence. They included Trump’s selection of Pete Hegseth as his defense secretary, Marco Rubio and Tulsi Gabbard as his secretary of state, Elise Stefanik as his ambassador to the UN, and Trump’s declared choice for national intelligence director. Additionally, a number of medal of honor recipients were present, donning their medals.
Later, Trump and Vance spoke with the relatives of three troops who lost their lives in the 2021 Kabul airport bombing and a fourth, whom they did not name, for almost 30 minutes in Section 60, the cemetery for service personnel killed while serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
When two Trump campaign employees allegedly verbally assaulted and shoved a cemetery official who attempted to stop them from filming and taking pictures in Section 60 in August, the scene was very different.
-The Associated Press, by Will Weissert and Fatima Hussein
