Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 20, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba WITH EVERY STORY manitobamuseum.ca TOP NEWS A3 MONDAY JANUARY 20, 2025 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM Incoming U.S. president tells rally ‘the curtain closes on four long years of American decline’ Trump promises swift action on Day 1 W ASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump used a raucous rally Sunday on the eve of his inauguration to promise swift Day 1 action remaking the federal govern- ment, shifting federal priorities at breakneck speed and ensuring that “the curtain closes on four long years of American decline.” Supporters filled nearly all of the 20,000-plus-seat Capital One Arena in downtown Washington for a “Make America Great Again” victory celebra- tion and cheered as Trump said he’d take quick action on everything from cracking down on the U.S.-Mexico bor- der to promoting oil drilling, reining in the federal workforce and eradicating diversity programs. “We’re going to give them the best first day, the biggest first week and the most extraordinary first 100 days of any presidency in American hist- ory,” said Trump, who also promised to roll back executive actions by his pre- decessor, outgoing President Joe Biden, “within hours.” In an unusual move, Trump entered at the arena’s concourse level and de- liberately made his way down the stairs before his speech, stopping frequently to pump his fist and pose for pictures with rallygoers. It was even more sur- real after he finished speaking, when the Village People took the stage and the president-elect sang — and even briefly danced — along to YMCA, an unofficial anthem of his campaign. Trump said he’d jump start his agen- da with a series of unilateral actions from the White House, telling the crowd, “You’re going to see executive orders that are going to make you ex- tremely happy. Lots of them.” Sunday was Trump’s first full day back in Washington since his Election Day victory and gave him a chance to energize core supporters before the official pomp of Inauguration Day. Un- like when Trump helped spark a mob of his supporters to attack the Capitol and tried to retain power in 2021 after his loss to Biden, officials did not expect massive protests, unrest or violence. Instead, jubilant crowds revelled in Trump’s coming second term and MAGA’s total control of the Republican Party. Yet even with a comfortable Elector- al College victory and his party in full — albeit narrow — control of Congress, the incoming president is one of the most polarizing figures in U.S. history, with nearly as many fierce detractors as ardent supporters. That means it could be difficult for Trump to fulfill postelection pledges to promote bipar- tisanship while healing political differ- ences. Trump has nonetheless insisted that unity will be a theme of his inaugura- tion speech today, along with strength and fairness — despite spending months as a candidate saying that if elected he would seek retribution against political enemies. That was the theme of much of his rally speech Sunday, when Trump returned to the greatest hits of his campaign — as if the race against Vice-President Kamala Harris weren’t already long decided. Trump de- nounced “migrant crime” by evoking one of his favourite fictional charac- ters, Hannibal Lecter, and promised to stamp out “woke” policies and oppose transgender rights. “Tomorrow, at noon, the curtain closes on four long years of American decline and we begin a brand new day of American strength and prosperity, dignity and pride,” Trump said, adding, “Once and for all, we’re going to end the reign of a failed and corrupt political establishment in Washington.” The event also featured a perform- ance by Kid Rock, who performed All Summer Long despite a cold mix of rain and snow falling outside. Others taking the stage included singer Lee Green- wood, whose God Bless the USA is a Trump favourite. Billionaire Tesla owner Elon Musk — who Trump has tasked with helping run a special commission to make the federal government more efficient — took the stage and said “we’re looking forward to making a lot of changes.” Jon Voight, an actor named by Trump as a special ambassador to Hollywood, declared the president-elect “our hero. A man who never gave up on the Amer- ican people — and we the people never gave up on him.” Stephen Miller, Trump’s pick to be deputy chief of staff and a key architect of the administration’s promised hard- line immigration polices, vowed that “justice is coming.” “We are about to get our country back and our democracy back,” Miller said, adding “Donald J. Trump is about to save this country.” With frigid temperatures expected today, Trump directed most of today’s outdoor events to be moved indoors and officials held a rehearsal Sunday for his swearing-in in the U.S. Capitol’s Rotun- da, which holds only 600 people com- pared to the 250,000-plus guests who had tickets to view the inauguration from around the Capitol grounds. Also Sunday, Trump had breakfast privately with Republican senators at Blair House, the president’s official guest residence, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House and took to his social media site to comment on the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the U.S. ban on TikTok. “Hostages starting to come out to- day!.” Trump wrote. Overnight, millions of U.S. users of TikTok lost the ability to watch videos on the social media platform as a fed- eral ban on the app took effect. Though the site later began working again for some users, the disruptions reflected a new law requiring its China-based par- ent company, ByteDance, to divest for national security reasons. The company made a personal ap- peal to Trump to intervene, posting a message saying, “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to re- instate TikTok once he takes office.” Trump subsequently posted, “I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!” He promised to issue an execu- tive order today “to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security.” The president-elect also wrote that he was interested in the U.S. owning 50 per cent of TikTok in a “joint venture” model, though he did not offer much de- tail on what that would look like. Another stop for Trump on Sunday were snow-covered graves at Arling- ton National Cemetery, where he and Vice-President-elect JD Vance — each wearing dark overcoats and red ties — walked together to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for a wreath-laying ceremony that included the playing of taps. Trump mouthed “thank you” after placing the wreath. The pair later spent nearly half an hour in Section 60, the burial site for military personnel killed while fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, talking with families of soldiers who died in the 2021 Kabul airport bombing. — The Associated Press WILL WEISSERT, FATIMA HUSSEIN AND JOSH BOAK EVAN VUCCI / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS President-elect Donald Trump dances with the Village People Sunday in Washington. Biden urges Americans to ‘keep the faith in a better day to come’ NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Joe Biden spent his final full day as presi- dent Sunday in South Carolina, urging Americans to “keep the faith in a bet- ter day to come” and reflecting on the influence of both the civil rights move- ment and the state itself in his political trajectory. On the eve of today’s inauguration of Republican president-elect Donald Trump, Biden delivered a final fare- well from a state that holds special meaning after his commanding win in its 2020 Democratic primary set him up to achieve his life’s goal of winning election as president. Biden spoke to the congregation of Royal Missionary Baptist Church about why he entered public service — Mar- tin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Ken- nedy were political heroes, he said. And in a nod to South Carolina Democrats, he said: “I owe you big.” The day before the federal holiday honouring King, the slain civil rights leader, Biden struck a more hopeful tone for the future of the country than his televised farewell address last Wed- nesday, when he warned about an “oli- garchy” of the ultrawealthy taking root and a “tech-industrial complex” imped- ing the future of democracy. “We know the struggle to redeeming the soul of this nation is difficult and ongoing,” Biden said Sunday. “We must hold on to hope. We must stay engaged. We must always keep the faith in a bet- ter day to come.” He added: “I’m not going anywhere” — and the congregation applauded. Biden later toured the International African American Museum in Charles- ton which was built on a waterfront site where tens of thousands of enslaved Africans were brought to the U.S. from the late 1760s through 1808. He spoke about efforts to ensure an administration “that looks like Amer- ica,” pointing to people like Lloyd Aus- tin, who was Biden’s secretary of de- fense and the first Black person in the job. Speaking of his nomination of Ket- anji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, he leaned toward the microphone and said: “And by the way, she’s smarter than those guys.” “We’re proving that by remembering our history, we can make history,” Biden said. Before the church service, as hos- tages started to be released under a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that the U.S. helped broker, Biden said “the guns in Gaza have gone silent.” He noted that in May he had out- lined the agreement to halt the fighting. “Now it falls on the next administra- tion to help implement this deal. I was pleased to have our team speak as one voice in the final days,” Biden said, be- fore urging Trump to keep supporting regional allies and using diplomacy to maintain the hard-won deal. Biden has been dogged by critics who oppose his administration for shipping arms to Israel and say the U.S. didn’t push its ally hard enough to ease a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. As his motorcade moved through Charleston, a group chanted “Biden is a war crim- inal” and held a banner saying “Biden’s legacy=genocide.” After commenting on the ceasefire, Biden and first lady Jill Biden took their seats in the front pew at the church. At least several hundred congregants sang gospel songs, rising to their feet and swaying and clapping. A choir led the musical selections from behind the pulpit before the program later shifted to focus on King. Biden was introduced at both stops by Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., a key ally who called the president his “longtime friend.” Clyburn cited a number of presidents who were underappreciated in office but were later looked on more fondly. He added Biden to that list. “So I want to say to you, good friend, very little appreciation has been shown recently but faint not. History will be very kind to you,” Clyburn said. In 2020, Biden saw his campaign flounder after he lost the opening con- tests in New Hampshire, Iowa and Nevada. But at the fourth stop, South Carolina — where Black voters make up a majority of the Democratic elec- torate — he was lifted to victory after Clyburn’s endorsement. After taking office, Biden pushed for South Carolina to open the Democratic Party’s nominating process for 2024, instead of New Hampshire. He easi- ly won the state’s primary last year, but after faltering in a debate against Trump, Biden dropped out of the race under pressure from many Democrats. Notably, Clyburn was not among them. — The Associated Press DARLENE SUPERVILLE AND REBECCA SANTANA ;