Thousands of Donald Trump‘s supporters waited in the cold and rain for hours to attend his victory rally on Sunday, a day before the president-elect returns to power with plans to aggressively reshape U.S. immigration and trade policy.
The Republican, 78, lay a wreath first at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Sunday before making his first major speech in Washington since a Jan. 6, 2021, rally with his supporters that preceded the storming of the U.S. Capitol.
The “Make America Great Again Victory Rally” was due to start at 3 p.m. ET (2000 GMT) at Capital One Arena, an indoor hockey and basketball stadium and the venue for some of Monday’s inauguration festivities after forecasts of bitter cold prompted officials to cancel a planned outdoor celebration.
The line of supporters, many dressed in Trump’s trademark red jackets and MAGA hats, stretched over several downtown Washington blocks. Some chanted “USA! USA!” and others spoke over megaphones while they waited.
Large swaths of the city around the U.S. Capitol and White House have been blocked off by steel fences since last week and there was a heightened police presence throughout the area.
Trump’s rally, along with his inaugural address on Monday, could preview the tone he plans to adopt during his second White House term. In recent weeks, Trump has bewildered foreign allies by musing aloud about taking over Greenland and the Panama Canal and turning Canada into a U.S. state.
