WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (KUNA) -- U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said late Sunday that he would act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing the country is facing.
"Starting tomorrow, I will act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing our country. We have to do it," Trump told his supporters at the Capitol One Arena, which was full to its capacity of 20,000 for a "Make America Great" victory celebration, with a large number of people waiting outside in chilling cold.
Trump, 78, made a stunning comeback when he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in last year's general election to become only the second person in US history to be sworn in as the president after a gap of four years.
He also pledged to release classified documents relating to the assassinations of President John F Kennedy, his brother Robert Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Trump promised a blitz of executive action on Day 1 in the Oval Office, including sweeping repeals of Biden administration policies, and pledged that his followers will "have a lot of fun" watching the barrage.
"Every radical and foolish executive order of the Biden administration will be repealed within hours of when I take the oath of office," Trump said.
"Oh, youآ’re going to have a lot of fun watching television tomorrow," he told the crowd. "Somebody said yesterday, آ‘Sir, donآ’t sign so many in one day. Letآ’s do it over a period of weeks.آ’ I said, آ‘Like hell weآ’re going to do it over weeks.آ’ Weآ’re going to sign them at the beginning." The president-elect is expected to push forward executive actions around energy, federal workforce rules, the border and immigration enforcement after heآ’s sworn in around noon on Monday.
The 22 executive orders that President Biden issued in his first week on the job marked a modern record, but Trump has hinted at plans for a historic surge of moves.
Meanwhile, Trump praised TikTok after short-lived ban, touting the return of the social media app TikTok after it briefly went dark in the U.S. because of a law requiring its China-based parent company ByteDance to sell the app.
"As of today, TikTok is back," Trump told the arena crowd. He riffed about having done "a little TikTok thing" during the election.
"Republicans have never won the young vote, the youth vote. We won the youth vote by 36 points. So I like TikTok," Trump said.
The app, which has been the subject of national security concerns, suspended services in the U.S. on Saturday night, shortly before the ban was to take effect. But on Sunday, the app was back up for American users, and the platform shared a message that gave credit to Trumpآ’s efforts.
Trump said Sunday that he plans to issue an executive order postponing the ban on TikTok, giving ByteDance more time to divest.
"Frankly, we have no choice. We have to save it," Trump said of the app. He also echoed an earlier proposal that the U.S. should have 50 percent ownership in a joint venture to keep the app afloat.
Trump hinted that he was set to take action on his first day in office to pardon individuals charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
"Tomorrow, everybody in this very large arena will be very happy with my decision on the J6 hostages," Trump said. "I think youآ’ll be very, very happy." Trump confirmed during the rally that his first trip outside of Washington as president will take place at the end of the week to see damage from the wildfires in Los Angeles.
"I also want to send our love to everyone affected by the terrible wildfires raging in California," Trump said. "Iآ’m going to go out there on Friday to see it and to get it moving back." Swaths of Los Angeles have been ravaged in recent weeks by wildfires, which have killed dozens of people and destroyed communities. Trump has attacked California Governor Gavin Newsom (D), suggesting his water and environmental policies worsened the fires.
Many Republicans are demanding conditions on any new emergency funding for Los Angeles, blaming Democratic leaders in California for exacerbating the crisis. Democrats are pushing back, accusing Republicans of exploiting the disaster to score political points and noting Congress typically passes disaster aid without conditions.
The inauguration is scheduled for noon ET on Monday when Trump will take the presidential oath of office inside the rotunda of the Capitol building, after the cold weather prompted organisers to move the ceremony indoors.
Approximately 25,000 law enforcement personnel will be on hand to provide security.
On the recently concluded ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Trump said the ceasefire deal achieved is a direct result of the Republican victory in the November US elections.
"This agreement could only have happened as a result of our historic victory in November," he noted.
He lauded the ceasefire agreement as "epic," characterizing it "as a first step towards lasting peace in the Middle East." (end) asj.mt