On the eve of his inauguration, US President-elect Donald Trump heralded the beginning of his second mandate with a campaign-style rally in Washington DC, where he promised to crack down on immigration and bring an end to the conflicts in Israel and Ukraine. RFI's Jan van der Made spoke to some of his supporters who turned out in their thousands despite the cold.
Trump promised an avalange of emergency actions Sunday at the massive "Make America Great Again Victory Rally" on the eve of his inauguration, starting with a crackdown on an "invasion" of immigrants at the border with Mexico.
"Starting tomorrow, I will act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing our country," Trump told a cheering crowd at a Washington arena the day before he is sworn in for a second term.
"We're going to stop the invasion of our borders," added Trump, who has suggested that he will order police to take action in cities with big immigrant populations as soon as he takes office.
The billionaire lashed out at the "failed administration" of outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden.
Trump also said he will immediately sign a record number of executive orders, undoing many of Biden's policies including on diversity and on drilling for oil in offshore sites and on federal land.
'We're being laughed at'
The rally featured celebrity backers including actor Jon Voight and musician Kid Rock, who all paid fulsome tribute to Trump.
Long lines of Trump supporters formed outside the arena despite icy conditions. The weather turned from drizzle to snow in the late afternoon.
"We have a lot of problems," Jeff Wilford, a ceramics salesman who came to Washington to witness the inauguration, told RFI.
"We haven't any strenghth in the world any longer. We're being laughed at."
Wilford is certain that Trump will "restore" the people's faith in the government. "He is going to secure our borders. He is going to make sure that our economy flourishes. He is going to usher in a Golden Age of a New America," he says.
This optimism is the mantra spoken by many of the thousands of Trump supporters, who repeat known slogans such as "he'll make America great again".
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"People's protest
"He is going to fix the mess," says Michael Vaskin, who is holding a two-metre high Trump sign over his head. He had been queuing up since 6 o'clock in the morning.
According to Vaskin, the Biden administration set Americans against one another.
Biden "made us believe that "6 January" attack on the Capitol was an insurrection, he goes on.
"It wasn’t. It was a people’s protest," he says. "We love Trump, we support our country. We support this great nation. And it is America for us, it is America first!
The inauguration on Monday, as well as the planned parade, will now be held inside, because of the extreme weather conditions.
"I am disappointed it moved indoors," Vaskin told RFI. Like Wilford, he had planned to go to the National Mall to see some of the festivities, but now his ticket is worthless.
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"It is for safety and health reasons," he says, Trump did it "because he loves Americans. He doesn't want us to wait in line in the cold and get sick and hurt. I believe he does the right thing," he says.
By Sunday evening, most of Washington's centre was a no-go area for cars, and long lines of metal fences were set up to prevent anybody into areas leading up to the Capitol and its surroundings.
Inauguration day itself will be dominated by the swearing-in ceremonies of Trump as President and JD Vance as Vice President, Trump's inaugural address, the "honorary departure" of outgoing President Joe Biden and his Vice-President Kamala Harris, signing ceremonies, a luncheon, inspection of military troops and the presidential parade, which will also take place in the Capital One Arena due to the cold weather conditions.
