It’s inauguration eve and Trump is ready to revel in his return to power

WASHINGTON —  President-elect Donald Trump is spending the eve of his inauguration in a series of Washington events celebrating his return to power and his “Make America Great Again” movement, as he prepares to move back into the White House at a time of deep national political divisions.

Throngs of Trump supporters, many arriving from around the country and decked out in their fanciest clothes, including fur coats, filled parties — both formal and informal — at hotels and restaurants close to the White House that stretched into the wee hours of Sunday. As they moved between the festivities, some could be heard chanting “MAGA” or simply stating it as a greeting to fellow revelers.

The nation’s capital has prepared in unprecedented ways to keep the unfolding events safe and secure. But unlike when Trump helped spark a mob of his supporters to attack the Capitol and tried to retain power in 2021 after his loss to Democrat Joe Biden, officials are not expecting massive protests, unrest or violence. Instead, the city is braced for crowds celebrating Trump’s second term and MAGA’s total control of the Republican Party.

It is a remarkable turnaround after Trump left the nation’s capital four years in disgrace and skipped the inauguration of his successor. Trump blasted his way through the 2024 GOP presidential primary and won November’s election by an electoral college margin unseen since Democrat Barack Obama was reelected in 2012.

Yet even with that comfortable victory and his party in full, albeit narrow, control of Congress, the incoming president remains 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 bipartisanship while healing political differences. He has insisted that unity will be a theme of his inauguration speech Monday at the Capitol, along with strength and fairness.

With frigid temperatures expected Monday, Trump directed his oath of office and most of Monday’s outdoor events be moved indoors. Officials held a rehearsal Sunday inside the U.S. Capitol. But because the Rotunda holds only 600 people, it was unclear if the 250,000-plus guests who had tickets to view the inauguration from around the Capitol grounds would have any opportunity to watch.

Large viewing screens that were erected around the National Mall were taken down, but Trump said there would be word on alternative, indoor locations for viewing the ceremonies. The traditional parade was to be held, in some form, at Capital One Arena.

“January 20th cannot come fast enough!,” Trump posted on his social media site. “Everybody, even those that initially opposed a Victory by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration, just want it to happen.”

Meanwhile, national and global events drew some of Trump’s attention Sunday. He took to his social media site to comment on the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and the U.S. ban on TikTok.

“Hostages starting to come out today! Three wonderful young women will be first,” Trump wrote.

Overnight, millions of U.S. users of TikTok were no longer able to watch videos on the social media platform as a federal ban on the app took effect. That’s because of a law requiring its China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest for national security reasons.

The company made a personal appeal 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 reinstate TikTok once he takes office.”

Trump subsequently posted, “I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!” He promised to issue an executive order Monday “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.”

It was not immediately clear how he could do that without violating the U.S. law instituting the ban. The president-elect also wrote that he was interested in the U.S. owning 50% of TikTok in a “joint venture” model, though he did not offer much detail on what that would look like. Incoming national security advisor Michael Waltz insisted that Trump could find a solution by Monday.

“I think we should all be confident that he can craft that kind of a deal,” Waltz told CBS’ ”Face the Nation.” He also noted that Trump discussed TikTok on a weekend call with Chinese President Xi Jinping and they “agreed to work together on this.”

“What we need between now and Monday is to buy the president some time to evaluate those deals,” Waltz said. “And if it goes dark, that’s going to be, obviously, extremely problematic.”

In keeping to tradition, Trump spent Saturday night at Blair House, the president’s official guest residence on Pennsylvania Avenue, across from the White House. He held a private breakfast with Republican senators there Sunday.

Trump arrived at Blair House after a party at his golf club in Sterling, Va., about 30 miles west of the city, that featured a fireworks display that illuminated the night sky.

Trump came back to Washington from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., aboard a C-32, the military variant of the Boeing 757, painted in the iconic presidential powder blue and white color scheme. The aircraft that would be known as Air Force One if the president were aboard carried the president-elect as Special Air Mission 47.

Sunday will be Trump’s first full day back in the capital since the election. It gives him a chance to enjoy the moment and fire up his core supporters before Inauguration Day’s heavy dose of official pomp, including the swearing-in at noon.

Trump planned to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery before addressing a rally downtown at Capital One Arena, home of Washington pro basketball and hockey teams.

The president-elect was also scheduled to attend a candlelight dinner Sunday where he was expected to speak.

Weissert writes for the Associated Press.