Four years on, MAGA faithful welcome Trump’s unlikely return to DC: ‘It means freedom for Americans’
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President-elect and his supporters railed against the departing Biden adminstration at a victory rally on the eve of his inauguration, writes Richard Hall at Trump’s rally in Washington, D.C. It was Donald Trump’s first major rally in Washington DC since he instructed thousands of his supporters to storm the Capitol four years ago, and his last before being sworn in for a historic second term as president.
![[Some Trump supporters came prepared for the freezing rain]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/19/19/SEI236564984.jpg)
His supporters lined up outside the Capitol One Arena in their thousands for his “victory rally” on the eve of his second inauguration. Some arrived the night before to set up camp in the icy cold. By morning, the line looped for dozens of blocks around downtown DC.
![[Trump wrapped up his rally by dancing onstage with the Village People]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/19/23/SEI236615636.jpg)
Trump took to the stage as happy as he has ever been, on the cusp of an impossible political comeback. This was not a speech to unite the country — if it would come at all, that would come tomorrow. This was a party for the MAGA faithful, a chance to revel and gloat in his victory.
"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," he told thousands of his supporters. “We’re going to end the reign of a failed and corrupt political establishment in Washington,” he continued. “We’re not going to take it anymore.”.
