WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump, the oldest man to win the presidency, offered himself Sunday as a champion of youth and said that decades from now, his youngest supporters would hail him as one of the greatest to call home to the White House.
“Someday, 30 years from now, 40 years from now, 50 years from now, some of these young people are going to say, ‘I remember Donald Trump, he did a good job,'” Trump said here during a pre-inauguration meeting. of possession. rally at Capital One Arena.
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Trump, who will be sworn in for the second time on Monday, attributed the gains he made among younger voters in part to his newfound support for TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media company that he once favored shutting down but has more . hugged recently.
On Sunday, Trump announced that one of his first actions upon returning to office will be to sign an executive order delaying a ban that the Supreme Court upheld last week. The announcement came after a brief interruption of TikTok’s availability in the United States.
“As of today, TikTok is back,” Trump said, drawing a standing ovation from the audience.
Trump’s rally was framed as a major victory lap. A parade of Trump-friendly figures took the stage before him, including Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, conservative media star Megyn Kelly and Stephen Miller, the anti-immigration firebrand and incoming White House deputy chief of staff.
Fans filled everything but the upper level of the stadium, which seats 20,000 during sporting events and hundreds more seats are arranged on the ground. Campaign slogans – “Trump will fix it,” among others – scrolled across the scoreboards as warm-up speakers took the stage.
“Tomorrow at noon four long years of American decline close and we begin a great new day of American strength, prosperity, dignity and pride,” Trump said.
Trump promised a swift series of executive orders to undo actions taken by outgoing President Joe Biden. He also alluded to how his return to power has accelerated a course correction among Big Tech companies and other business executives who once treated him with caution while endorsing progressive corporate governance policies that drew ridicule from his MAGA base.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg have taken steps in recent weeks to align their companies and themselves more closely with Trump’s values. Both accepted invitations to attend Monday’s dedication ceremony. From the stage, Trump mentioned Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, with whom he recently met and with whom Trump said he spoke again on Sunday.
“Today I spoke with Tim Cook from Apple and they told me they were going to make a massive investment in the United States because of our election victory,” Trump joked.
With dangerously cold weather forecast to move Monday’s inauguration ceremony indoors, the rally was a point of spiritual release for the thousands of Trump supporters and other Republicans in Washington this week. And for Trump, the rally’s loose format represented a return to a comfort zone that a more focused inaugural address can’t match.
Trump ally and rock star Kid Rock performed a brief performance, including “We the People,” a song that includes the lyrics “Let’s go, Brandon,” a phrase that has emerged as an anti-meme in recent years. Biden. of a vulgar mockery towards him.
Members of the Trump family also addressed the audience. After Eric and Lara Trump led their two young children in the Pledge of Allegiance, Eric Trump offered some PG-13 food.
“The nonsense ends. The bulls…end,” said Eric Trump, anticipating his father’s second term.
And Elon Musk, the billionaire Tesla CEO and owner of the social media site
“We expect to make a lot of changes,” Musk said. “This victory is the beginning, really. What matters in the future is to make significant changes.”
Missing from Sunday’s show was Vice President-elect JD Vance, who was scheduled to speak before Trump. But Vance had to be somewhere else at a certain difficult time. After earlier delays in scheduling the rally, he left the stadium before addressing the crowd to get where he needed to be and ensure Trump could deliver his remarks on time, two sources familiar with the logistics said.
Trump seemed confused about Vance’s whereabouts — “wherever he is,” he said at one point during his speech.
Otherwise, Trump’s comments were peppered with the themes that often energize him and his crowds, from the pardon for his supporters who were convicted of crimes following the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol to his hopes for the “Department of Government Efficiency” led by Musk. advisory commission.
Trump at one point pledged to declassify records related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother and former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., as well as other records of national interest. . Trump attempted to declassify all records related to the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy during his first term but was unable to do so.
He also assured that everyone in the arena would be “very happy” with his choice to pardon those convicted of crimes after the Capitol riots, calling those convicts “J6 hostages.” Trump then immediately went on to praise Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Capitals professional hockey team and the Wizards and Mystics professional basketball team, for his help with the rally and for his attendance on Sunday.
“Their team is doing very well,” Trump said of the Capitals, before highlighting the team’s star winger. “AND [Alexander] “Ovechkin is a great player.”
But his proposals towards a new generation were consistent at all times.
He suggested he had joined TikTok: “Can you believe what I’ll do to win an election?” – largely due to his popularity among younger voters.
“I said we had to save TikTok, because we’re talking about a tremendous audience,” said Trump, who at times exaggerated the amount of support he received from the demographic, which has long favored Democratic candidates but trended in his direction. last fall. .
And after recognizing Vance, who at 40 will be the third-youngest vice president in history, Trump recognized Charlie Kirk, an influential right-wing activist on college campuses.
“When you hear kids are liberal, they’re not liberal,” Trump said. “Maybe they used to be, but they’re not anymore.”
However, the rally ended on a note more favorable to baby boomers. The Village People, best known for their 1978 hit “YMCA,” a Trump rally staple, performed the song live to close the show.
