'A victory rally you'll never forget!'
President-elect Donald Trump plans to celebrate the start of his second term a day early by throwing a rally in Washington, D.C., the day before he is sworn in to office.
According to a sign-up page on a website for the Trump Vance Inaugural Committee, the event will begin at 3 p.m. on January 19, 2025. Trump will take the oath of office at the Capitol fewer than 24 hours later, at noon on January 20.
"Join President Trump at Capital One Arena for a victory rally you'll never forget!" the sign-up page says.
The Capital One Arena is home to two D.C.-area professional sports teams: the Washington Wizards of the NBA and the Washington Capitals of the NHL. The arena can hold approximately 20,000 people, Newsmax reported.
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Tickets can be reserved on a first come, first served basis. However, each registered mobile phone number is limited to two tickets only.
'The Jan. 19 event is reminiscent of a rally in the final days of the campaign ... [that] included several controversial moments.'
The pre-inauguration rally is significant for two reasons.
First, it marks the first public rally Trump has hosted since trouncing Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election in November. In the lead-up to the election, Trump hosted dozens of rallies, bouncing from swing state to swing state in hopes of securing more votes.
Since the election, Trump has been busy preparing for his second term. He has also hosted several small gatherings, including a New Year's Eve party attended by Elon Musk and other supporters, at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Secondly, the rally's proximity to the Capitol has already sparked at least one comparison with the melee there on January 6, 2021.
Joey Garrison of USA Today seemed particularly irked, writing: "A joint session of Congress will meet Jan. 6 to count the electoral votes certifying Trump's victory four years after a mob of Trump supporters violently attacked the Capitol in protest of President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory against Trump."
Garrison then noted that Biden "has said he will attend Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony even though Trump skipped Biden's inauguration in 2021."
USA Today was not the only outlet seemingly miffed by Trump's D.C. rally plans. In reporting the news about the rally, Stephanie Lai of Bloomberg repeatedly implied that Trump is unpredictable — and perhaps even unstable.
The rally "gives the president-elect wide latitude to stage a freewheeling spectacle," Lai wrote.
At such events, Trump often "feeds off his fans’ energy and enjoys disregarding the teleprompter," behavior Lai described as "unbridled."
Such a rally also puts Trump out of step with most incoming presidents, "who generally lay low on the day before their swearing in," Lai continued. She then suggested Trump scheduled the rally because he loves the attention: "But Trump, who rose to significance first as a reality television star, has been known to revel in the pageantry of large events where he can galvanize his fans."
Lai also seemingly criticized Trump's rallies in general because of a joke made at one rally by a comedian who was otherwise unaffiliated with the Trump campaign.
The Jan. 19 event is reminiscent of a rally in the final days of the campaign at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. That event included several controversial moments, including an incendiary joke from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe where he called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” That drew significant backlash from Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike.
Others expressed concerns about the rally that were entirely unrelated to Trump's larger-than-life personality or January 6. Instead, they worry that the event presents an unnecessary safety risk.
"Smh can he just get sworn in 1st. If he doesn’t have the presidential security detail, why chance it… We don’t need another Butler, PA event.. There’s absolutely no need for a victory rally," wrote a user who goes by Jay'V.
"As much as I love the rallies, I wish he would not do this," added a woman who calls herself DR MAGA.
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