“TikTok is back,” Donald Trump told a large crowd before the inauguration, as he pledged to sign an executive order giving the social media platform more time amid a new US law requiring the divestment of Chinese parent company ByteDance.
Trump has said he wants the United States to own 50% of the platform in a joint venture, but it is unclear exactly what that would entail and whether ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, would agree to such terms.
“We're not paying any money,” Trump said. “All we're doing is giving them consent without which they wouldn't get anything. This seems to be working, what do you think, good?”
TikTok has stopped working as of late Saturday as a new law goes into effect banning US app stores from downloading the popular platform. But TikTok was back in business this afternoon, with the company crediting Trump for offering assurances that, once in office, he would not move to penalize providers for carrying the app.
The rally at Capitol One Arena looked much like his many campaign events, with Trump vowing “the largest mass deportation in history,” referring to illegal immigrant criminals as “animals,” and playing a video mashup of news reports on crimes. Committed by unregistered individuals. He has criticized Joe Biden and his administration, again criticized David Muir over the way he ran the ABC News debate, and continues to insist that the 2020 election was rigged.
But Trump also gave some indications of what will happen in his first week back in office.
On Friday, he plans to visit Los Angeles to tour the devastation left by the wildfires that devastated the Pacific Palisades and Altadena area. He noted that he recently met with Los Angeles Olympic organizers, including Casey Wasserman, and that “because of the wildfires, they are going to do something special and special.” He also pledged to “rebuild Los Angeles better and more beautiful than ever.”
Trump said he would also release remaining records of the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., something that Robert Kennedy Jr., his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, described as…
Trump told the crowd that he would sign an executive order on Monday so that “the invasion of our borders will stop, and all illegal border trespassers will go home in one form or another.” But he also plans to sign dozens more executive orders in the coming days, including those targeting the federal workforce and Biden's climate policies.
Speakers at the rally included Jon Voight and Dana White, while Kid Rock was among the performers. Trump's sons, Don Jr. and Eric, also spoke, as did his adviser Stephen Miller.
During his hour-long speech, Trump called out Elon Musk, joined by his young son X, the only one of the president-elect's allies to share the stage with him. Musk, who is said to have spent $250 million to help Trump win the election, is leading an effort called the “Government Efficiency Management.” “What matters going forward is making changes that really matter… and laying the foundation for America to be strong for a century,” Musk told the audience.
Trump has indicated that when he delivers his inaugural address on Monday, he will deliver a message of “unity.” But the rally leaned more toward campaign attacks on the left and so-called “woke culture,” with Trump and other speakers denouncing the transgender rights movement, the DEI initiative and critical race theory.
One speaker, Megyn Kelly, attacked Hollywood celebrities “who come out there and try to tell us how to vote,” even though Trump himself has relied on figures like Voight and others in his campaign. Also in attendance was Sylvester Stallone, who, along with Voight and Mel Gibson, was chosen to be Trump's “ambassadors” to Hollywood.
Trump also took issue with what he sees as military weakness, with a video comparing soldiers in combat and a military message promoting the Pride celebration.
However, Trump's rally ended with the current incarnation of the Village People, singing the gay anthem “YMCA,” which also became a signature song of the MAGA campaign. On stage, Trump moved his hands and arms and danced away.
