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President-elect Donald Trump boasted about his efforts to “save” TikTok during his pre-inauguration rally.
Trump is speaking at his “Make America Great Again Victory Rally” inside Washington D.C.’s Capital One Arena this Sunday evening, less than 24 hours before he’s set to take office.
“As of today, TikTok is back,” Trump said. “So, you know, I did a little TikTok thing. We have a guy…he’s a young kid, like 21 years old, and we hired this guy, and I went on Tiktok. Can you believe what I’ll do to win an election?”
“So whether you like Tiktok or not, we’re going to make a lot of money,” he added.
TikTok hailed “President Trump’s efforts” in a message to users following a brief shutdown in the U.S. on Saturday night. The app went offline in the U.S. at about 10.30 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday before the ban went into effect on January 19.
Thousands of spectators lined up outside the arena beginning early Sunday, many donning the famous red “Make America Great Again” caps and waving signs supporting the president-elect. The crowd chanted “USA!” as Trump walked through the crowd toward the stage.
The victory rally marks Trump’s first major speech in the nation’s capital since he spoke at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021. There, he said to “fight like hell” just before many of his supporters stormed the Capitol in an effort to obstruct the certification of the 2020 election.
A number of Trump allies spoke at the rally before the president-elect, including actor Jon Voight and adviser Stephen Miller.
“It has been four long years. It has felt like 400 years,” Miller told attendees. “Four years of weakness, four years of humiliation and embarrassment, four years of persecution, four years of inflation, poverty, incompetence, four years of betrayal, four years of wide open, undefended unprotected open borders.”
“But tomorrow at 12 p.m., that’s all going to end.”
Kid Rock also performed his 2008 hit, “All Summer Long.” He also performed “We The People,” with lyrics slamming President Joe Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci and “mainstream media.”
Ahead of the victory rally, Trump arrived at Arlington National Cemetery and placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This follows Trump’s visit to the site in August, during which two of his staffers were allegedly involved in a physical altercation with cemetery personnel, according to an NPR report at the time.
Meanwhile, the president-elect’s inauguration will take place indoors at the Capitol building Monday afternoon, a change attributed to freezing temperatures. Spectators can view the ceremony from the Capital One Arena, Trump announced, while notable attendees — including President Joe Biden, lawmakers, and Trump’s family, among others — will still be able to attend in person.
More to come…