Donald Trump has told Americans there’s no need to feel down as he wrapped up his final rally ahead of his inauguration by dancing on stage with The Village People.
The President-elect hosted a victory lap celebration on the eve of his return to the White House and was seen pumping his fists and shaking his hips alongside the US disco group’s YMCA, the anthem that closed out nearly all of Trump's campaign rallies.
Trump will be sworn in as US president on Monday, ushering in another turbulent four-year term with promises to push the limits of executive power, deport millions of immigrants, secure retribution against his political enemies and transform the role of the US on the world stage.
His inauguration completes a triumphant comeback for a political disruptor who survived two impeachment trials, a felony conviction, two assassination attempts and an indictment for attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Speaking to supporters on Sunday’s rally in Washington he shouted: “We will be taking back our country. 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. Bringing it all back once and for all.”
At times Trump was seen pointing into the crowd, waving or even mimicking a golf swing as supporters celebrated the promises for his upcoming administration.
The inauguration ceremony will take place at noon (1700 GMT) inside the Rotunda of the US Capitol, four years after a mob of Trump supporters breached the symbol of American democracy in an unsuccessful effort to forestall the Republican Trump's 2020 defeat to Democrat Joe Biden.
The swearing-in was moved indoors for the first time in 40 years due to the extreme cold.
Trump, the first US president since the 19th century to win a second term after losing the White House, has said he will pardon "on Day One" many of the more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
The former president returns to Washington emboldened after winning the national popular vote over Vice President Kamala Harris by more than two million votes thanks to a groundswell of voter frustration over persistent inflation, though he still fell just short of a 50 per cent majority.
In 2016, Trump won the Electoral College - and the presidency - despite receiving nearly three million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton.
Even before taking office, Trump established a rival power centre in the weeks after his election victory, meeting world leaders and causing consternation by musing aloud about seizing the Panama Canal, taking control of NATO ally Denmark's territory of Greenland and imposing tariffs on the biggest US trading partners.
His influence has already been felt in the Israel-Hamas announcement last week of a ceasefire deal. Trump, whose envoy joined the negotiations in Qatar, had warned of "hell to pay" if Hamas did not release its hostages before the inauguration.
Trump claimed during the campaign he would end the Russia-Ukraine war on his first day, but his advisers have acknowledged any peace deal will take months.
He also has the backing of the world's richest man, Elon Musk, who spent more than $250 million to help get Trump elected.
Other billionaire tech leaders who have sought to curry favour with the incoming administration, such as Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet's Sundar Pichai and Apple's Tim Cook, will join Musk in attending Monday's ceremony, according to Reuters and other media.
Trump said on Sunday he will travel to California on Friday to visit fire-ravaged Los Angeles County.
