‘You’re Going to See Something Tomorrow’: Buoyant Trump Previews Sweep of Orders on First Day

When Donald Trump walked on stage at the Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C. on Sunday night, he seemed to relish the moment, standing in front of so many supporters who have traveled the country to attend his rallies. He stretched his arms out wide and said, “We won!” Less than 24 hours before he’ll be sworn in as President again, he promised big changes to the country in the first few hours of his second term. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

During his campaign, Trump said he would be a “dictator on day one” to surge deportations and open up lands for oil drilling. From what he told the arena crowd on Sunday, he intends to follow through on that and more.

“You’re going to see something tomorrow,” Trump said. “You’re going to see executive orders that are going to make you extremely happy—lots of them.”

Within hours of being inaugurated, Trump said he will be signing papers to repeal many of President Biden’s “radical” actions.  He plans to roll back protections for trans athletes in school sports. He will give additional powers to immigration officers to surge deportations. He will end diversity, equity and inclusion practices in government. 

“By the time the sun sets tomorrow evening, the invasion of our borders will have come to a halt and all the illegal border trespassers will, in some form or another, be on their way back home,” he promised. 

Trump hinted that he planned sweeping pardons for those accused of crimes related to the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. “Everyone will be very very happy with my decision on the J6 hostages,” Trump told the crowd.  And Trump also promised to quickly release the federal records on the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. And as TikTok’s future remains in limbo due to a law requiring it be banned in the U.S. unless its Chinese owners divest from it, Trump floated the far-fetched idea of allowing access to TikTok as long as the U.S. could own 50 percent of the company in a joint venture. 

It’s going to be quite a kick off. 

Trump’s final rally before his return to the White House included performances by Kid Rock and the Village People, and warm up speeches from Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, his son Don. Jr. his daughter in law and Republican National Committee Co-Chair Lara Trump, and his firebrand policy advisor Stephen Miller.  

On the eve of Inauguration Day, Trump World was feeling vindicated after the election proved that four years of federal investigations, felony convictions and political scandals didn’t dampen Trump’s appeal at the ballot box. “MAGA is stronger and more united and more determined than ever before,” Miller said, who will be Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy starting on Monday. He’s the one corralling the executive orders that will be put in front of Trump to sign. Miller promised Trump would immediately clamp down on border security, increase the number of people targeted for deportation, and roll back protections for trans athletes. “It’s not up to you if you are a man or a woman. That decision is a decision that is made by God and it can’t be changed,” Miller said.

As Trump was speaking, he brought billionaire Elon Musk on stage to huge cheers in the arena. Musk seemed surprised to be called up and walked over the podium after corralling his son X, who was wearing a red sweater. Musk has been tasked with slashing federal spending by trillions of dollars. “We’re looking forward to making a lot of changes. This victory is the start.” Musk said. 

Cutting costs will be challenging with the initiatives Trump is proposing. Deporting millions more people who are in the country illegally will be expensive, takes years, and require hiring thousands of federal officials. Trump also spoke at the rally of wanting to develop a “great iron dome of defense,” which would be a cash cow for defense contractors.