USA-Trump, a few hours before his inauguration, promises a “new day”

by Tim Reid and Joseph Ax

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump promised thousands of supporters gathered in Washington on Sunday to “solve every crisis facing our country”, on the eve of his inauguration for a second term at the White House during which he is expected to deeply reshape major policies in the United States.

During a rally resembling a campaign rally in a convention hall in the American federal capital, the Republican president-elect told the crowd that he would impose, from the first day of his mandate, broad restrictions on matters immigration – one of the central promises of his electoral campaign.

“Before the sun sets tomorrow (Monday), the invasion of our country will have stopped,” he told jubilant supporters at a “Make America Great Again” victory rally ( “Make America Great Again”), his famous slogan.

Donald Trump has repeated that he will implement the largest deportation program in the history of the United States, with the aim of expelling millions of immigrants. An operation of this magnitude could, however, take years to finalize and prove very expensive.

A few hours before the inauguration ceremony scheduled for Monday at noon (5:00 p.m. GMT), the gathering organized at the Capital One Arena, where Washington’s professional basketball and ice hockey teams play, turned out to be similar to the freewheeling meetings led by Donald Trump since his first presidential campaign in 2016.

The president-elect alternated moments of vanity, false assertions and radical promises, to the delight of the thousands of people gathered in the 20,000-seat venue.

“This is the greatest political movement in American history. 75 days ago, we signed the most epic political victory our country has ever seen,” Donald Trump said.

“Starting tomorrow, I will act with historic speed and force to resolve each of the crises facing our country,” he added.

BORDER SECURITY

Donald Trump had not given a major speech in Washington since January 6, 2021, as his first term was coming to an end, just before several thousand of his supporters led an assault on the Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying the victory election of Democrat Joe Biden. Trump has previously promised to pardon most of the 1,500 people charged or convicted over the bloody attack.

Donald Trump’s speech at his inauguration ceremony on Monday is expected to set the tone for his second term in the White House.

Since his victory against outgoing Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris on November 5, Donald Trump has notably disconcerted Washington’s allies by expressing his desire to control Greenland and the Panama Canal as well as transform Canada into the 51st American state. .

A source familiar with the matter reported that border security would be at the heart of the first decrees that Donald Trump will take upon his return to the Oval Office on Monday, with the desire in particular to classify drug trafficking cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations” and to declare a state of emergency on the border with Mexico.

Among other promises made in bulk on Sunday during his rally, Donald Trump said he wanted to put an end to what he described as the “upclassification” of government documents – an apparent reference to the legal proceedings which targeted him for having taken documents classified as confidential upon his departure from the White House in 2021. The federal charges were dropped following Trump’s election victory last November.

Due to the freezing cold expected Monday in Washington, part of the inauguration ceremony will not take place outdoors, as is customary, but will be relocated to the Capital One Arena. Some 25,000 members of the police will be deployed to ensure the security of the event.

(Tim Reid and Joseph Ax, with contributions from David Shepardson, Trevor Hunnicutt and Doina Chiacu; French version Jean Terzian)