Trump promises blizzard of executive orders on first day of presidency

Hours before he will be sworn into office, Donald Trump promised to sign a host of executive orders on his first day as president while celebrating at a victory rally.

Trump addressed the crowd of thousands of supporters in Washington DC on the eve of his inauguration, offering a preview of the next four years and celebrating his election victory over Democrats.

The Republican promised to act unilaterally on a wide array of issues, using his new presidential powers to launch deportation operations and slash environmental regulations.

“I will act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing our country,” he promised the crowd.

“You’re going to have a lot of fun watching television tomorrow,” he told those gathered at the “Make America Great Again Victory Rally”. “Every radical and foolish executive order of the Biden administration will be repealed within hours of when I take the oath of office.”

Trump promised executive orders that will ramp up artificial intelligence, form the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), make records available related to the assassinations of former presidents, direct the military to create the Iron Dome missile defence shield and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies from the military.

Media reports indicate Trump may issue more than 200 executive actions on Monday, which is different than an executive order.

Executive orders are recognized by courts, legally binding and published in the Federal Register. They can be overturned by future presidents.

Executive actions, however, carry less weight and aren’t subject to legal review. They serve more as a “wish list” of policies a president hopes to accomplish, political writer Tom Murse writes.

“You’re going to see going to see executive orders that are going to make you extremely happy,” he told the crowd. “We have to set our country on the proper course.”

Many of these executive orders are expected to be challenged in court.

Trump also pledged to sign executive actions that will address illegal immigration at the border by launching what he claims will be the largest deportation operation in history.

Experts say Trump’s promise to deport millions of migrants will face enormous logistical hurdles, and potentially cost tens or hundreds of billions of dollars.

Trump also promised to act on crime in America’s cities, eliminate left-leaning policies in government and take on trans people competing in American sports.

He took credit during his rally speech for the restoration of TikTok after it was briefly banned over the weekend and for the ceasefire deal in the Middle East.

The ceasefire deal was struck days ago under the Biden administration.

The rally took place at the Capital One Arena in downtown Washington DC, which has a capacity of around 20,000.

It began with a performance by Kid Rock and featured speeches from TV personality Megyn Kelly, actor Jon Voight and Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller.

Grammy-winning country music singer Lee Greenwood also performed ‘God Bless the USA’, which has become an anthem for the Trump campaign.

Greenwood – a personal friend and business partner of the president-elect has performed live for 10 presidents, twice for Trump, including during his 2016 inauguration.

“To include God first in the message in the song, I believe that resonated more with that president than any president prior,” he told the BBC World Service’s Newshour programme.

Elon Musk also gave a brief speech after Trump touted his creation of DOGE, an advisory agency dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency that Mr Musk is set to run with Vivek Ramaswamy.

Trump’s family also joined him on stage, including Donald Trump Jr., Eric and Lara Trump.

Trump supporters – wearing red Make America Great Again hats and other pro-Trump apparel – have flooded the nation’s capital this weekend despite bitter cold temperatures and snow on Sunday.

The poor weather conditions caused the relocation of the inauguration ceremony, making it a less public event with reduced access. Trump will be sworn into office in the Rotunda of the US Capitol on Monday.

Franklin Graham – the son of famous evangelist Billy Graham – will give the invocation during Monday’s inauguration ceremony.

“I think President Trump is a much different man than he was in 2017,” he told the BBC Radio 4’s Sunday. “I think God has strengthened him and he’s come through this a much stronger man and he’s going to be a much better president for all these hardships he’s gone through.”