By Steve Holland and Tim Reid
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump will take a victory lap on Sunday with a campaign-style rally in Washington, D.C., a day before he is sworn in for a second term four years after losing the White House to Joe Biden.
Trump’s “Make America Great Again” victory rally, scheduled for 3 p.m. ET (1900 GMT) at the capital one (NYSE:) Arena: Marks his first major speech in Washington since he urged his supporters to march on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in protest of his defeat.
Thousands of people stormed the building in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the results. Trump has promised to pardon many of the more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the attack.
His comments at the rally, along with his inaugural speech on Monday, could offer a preview of the tone he plans to take in the early days of his second term. In recent weeks, Trump has unnerved his foreign allies by musing aloud about the possibility of seizing Greenland and the Panama Canal and turning Canada into an American state.
The rally is likely to resemble the freewheeling speeches that have been a Trump staple since his first White House campaign in 2016.
The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, who has become a close confidant of Trump since spending more than $250 million to boost his campaign, is scheduled to speak at the event, along with Vice President-elect JD Vance. Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, conservative activist Charlie Kirk and conservative commentator Megyn Kelly.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew also plans to attend the rally, amid uncertainty over whether Trump will take action to rescue the app from a US ban that takes effect on Sunday. Chew is expected to join other tech executives at Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
Singer and rapper Kid Rock, disco group The Village People, singer Billy Ray Cyrus and singer Lee Greenwood are scheduled to perform at the rally.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden will make his last official trip as president on Sunday to Charleston, South Carolina, to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which falls on Monday, the White House said. He will attend services and speak about King’s legacy at the Royal Missionary Baptist Church.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. In the evening, he will address wealthy supporters at a dinner in Washington.
The inauguration is scheduled for noon ET (1600 GMT) on Monday, when Trump will take the presidential oath inside the Capitol building’s rotunda, after cold weather prompted organizers to move the ceremony indoors. Approximately 25,000 law enforcement officers will be available to provide security.