US President-elect Donald Trump vowed a blitz of emergency actions Sunday at a huge victory rally on the eve of his inauguration, starting with a crackdown on an “invasion” of immigrants at the border with Mexico.
“Starting tomorrow, I will act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing our country,” Trump told a cheering crowd at a Washington arena the day before he is sworn in for a second term.
Republican Trump was joined on stage by Elon Musk — the tech tycoon who is set to lead a major cost-cutting drive in his administration — and who vowed to do “great things” and make America strong “for centuries.”
The 78-year-old Trump focused on immigration in his campaign-style speech, driving home the dark messages that helped spur his remarkable victory in November’s presidential election.
“We’re going to stop the invasion of our borders,” added Trump, whose administration has indicated that it plans to launch raids targeting undocumented migrants within days of taking office.
The billionaire also lashed out at the “failed administration” of outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden.
The rally featured celebrity backers including actor Jon Voight and musician Kid Rock, who all paid fulsome tribute to Trump.
Long lines of Trump supporters formed outside the arena despite snowy conditions.
“I wanted to see history unfold before my eyes,” Alan McNeely, 21, a student from Connecticut, told AFP.
As he prepares to return to the White House on Monday, the future US commander-in-chief earlier paid a highly symbolic visit to Arlington National Cemetery, the resting place of America’s war dead.
Wearing a black overcoat, red tie and black gloves, Trump laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, followed by incoming Vice President J.D. Vance.
The somber ceremony contrasted with Trump’s last trip to the cemetery as a presidential candidate in August, when the US army criticized his staff for pushing a cemetery employee.
Trump has had a troubled relationship with the military, and while often touting his support for the armed forces, he privately mocked the war dead while president, according to his former chief of staff.
Trump’s hopes for a huge crowd to see his inauguration at the US Capitol on Monday took a blow, however, when forecasts of freezing weather prompted organizers to move the ceremony indoors.
Instead of being sworn in on the steps of the Capitol, Trump will now take the oath under the massive dome of its Rotunda, last used for the ceremony 40 years ago during the inauguration of Ronald Reagan.
“You’re going to hear President Trump talk about how we are entering a Golden Age of America” in his inaugural speech, his incoming press secretary Karoline Leavitt told America’s Newsroom on Fox News.
– ‘Save TikTok’ –
Once back in the Oval Office, Trump has vowed a series of swift actions starting with the deportation of millions of undocumented migrants.
The expulsions will “begin very, very quickly,” Trump told NBC on Sunday — though his border czar Tom Homan said the administration was rethinking plans for an initial showcase raid in Chicago after its plans leaked to the media.
Trump said he will immediately sign a record number of executive orders, undoing many of Biden’s policies including on diversity and on drilling for oil in offshore sites and on federal land.
Biden traveled to South Carolina on Sunday, his last full day as US president, to mark a national holiday honoring civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.
The “Trump effect” has already been on display, with TikTok crediting his “clarity” for being able to restore service in the United States after briefly going dark due to a ban on national security grounds.
“We have to save TikTok,” Trump told the rally.
He earlier promised to issue an executive order delaying the ban to allow time to “make a deal” to remove TikTok’s US subsidiary from Chinese ownership.
In the Middle East, the first three Israeli hostages were released Sunday under a Gaza truce that Trump’s team had been involved in along with Biden’s administration.