Darren Pellegrino left his home in Hawthorne, New Jersey, at 3 a.m. Sunday to drive to Capital One Sports Arena in Washington. By 8 a.m., when he joined legions of other supporters of incoming President Donald Trump waiting to participate in an afternoon rally before his inauguration, the line already stretched several blocks — and continued to grow.
Mr. Pellegrino, who installs home swimming pools, had attended Trump rallies before, so he knew he would be among friends. In his home country, he did not always feel welcome to express his opinions. But he says the mood has changed recently, even in New Jersey, which is run by Democrats.
“You can go out and wear a MAGA hat. It’s OK to support Trump,” he says.
Why did we write this?
Donald Trump and his MAGA movement are back in power again – and this time, outsiders look more like insiders, at the forefront of a potentially profound cultural and political shift.
When Trump arrived in Washington in 2017, his reception was as tepid as the outdoor temperatures on Inauguration Day. Four years later, in 2021, he left the White House under a cloud after Trump loyalists stormed the US Capitol on January 6, in a failed attempt to disrupt or overturn his electoral defeat. Mr. Trump headed into what looked like permanent exile at his Mar-a-Lago stronghold in Florida.
But now, the incoming president and his MAGA (“Make America Great Again”) movement have triumphed once again — and this time, they’re hardly unruly rebels seizing a hostile fortress. Outsiders seem more like insiders, the vanguard of a cultural and political transformation that may be much deeper than it was during his first presidency. Trump has reshaped the Republican Party, once full of lawmakers and power brokers who looked down on him, in his image. He also has the support of wealthy businessmen willing to shed their inhibitions about his ruthless brand of politics.
It’s a far cry from the candidate who was seen as an outlier and “a bit of an accidental president” after his surprise victory in 2016, says Susan Stokes, director of the Chicago Center for Democracy at the University of Chicago. “He has more legitimacy this time… and he is a more powerful and confident political player.”
Behind the personal justification and shift in the atmosphere lies electoral arithmetic: Mr. Trump won the popular vote in 2024, unlike the past two election cycles (albeit by only 1.5 percentage points). He also won all the battleground states, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, who had attacked him. Most analysts expected narrow margins in swing states It diminished Mr. Trump’s ability to appeal to irregular voters.
Sunday’s victory march was part of a packed schedule of festivities and celebrations for Mr. Trump, who will be sworn in at noon Monday at an indoor inauguration ceremony at the Capitol amid frigid temperatures. Hundreds of thousands of fans who had tickets to an outdoor concert will instead have to try to get into the 20,000-seat Capital One Stadium to watch live coverage. After taking the presidential oath, Mr. Trump is scheduled to join them in the arena for a mini-parade.
On Saturday, thousands of people marched near the Capitol building To protest Mr. Trump and his policies on issues such as climate change, transgender rights, and race relations. But it was a modest show of defiance compared to 2017, when millions of women marched here and in cities across the country as part of a resistance movement on the political left.
Kelly Hall remembers the protests that year and the hostility shown toward Mr. Trump and his supporters like her. A retired airline lady and emergency room nurse from Bonneville, New York, brought her husband to the inauguration this time — “He really likes Trump” — and sounded upbeat Sunday, even as rain, snow and hail pelted the lines of people moving toward him. Gathering place.
“People are starting to crowd together more,” she says, looking across the crowds still waiting to get in, even after the rally has begun. “I think we’re in the majority now.”
“I will… fix every crisis.”
Some supporters were still outside when Trump took the stage around 5 p.m. to deliver his freestyle speech, making promises and jokes, and mixing facts and lies about issues such as crime and immigration. He bragged about assembling an “all-star” cabinet and praised his family. He also strongly hinted that he would pardon supporters convicted of crimes related to the 2021 attack on the Capitol, among other executive actions in his first few days.
“Starting tomorrow, I will act with historic speed and force, and I will fix every crisis facing our country,” he said.
Elon Musk, a supporter of billionaire Trump, appeared briefly with his young son, who danced behind him on stage. The incoming president appointed Mr. Musk to run an advisory panel on government efficiency, and reportedly gave him office space in the White House.
Mr. Musk is among a group of wealthy men in the technology industry who supported Mr. Trump and helped finance his inauguration, including sponsoring parties and private dinners. Big companies also contributed to thisincluding some who have kept their distance in the past. Cryptocurrency investors are hoping for light federal regulations They have proven particularly generous with their donations.
The stampede of businessmen who have visited Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago since the election has drawn sharp criticism from many on the left. New Yorker editor David Remnick called it “a scene of such stark self-denial, ring-kissing, and kneeling that it would embarrass a medieval pope.”
Among Trump’s rank-and-file supporters awaiting Sunday’s rally, some expressed concerns about wealthy businessmen courting him and the favors they seek. Ms. Hall says she was not happy to see “two-faced” CEOs who previously despised Mr. Trump emerge alongside him. A war of words recently broke out among Trump allies over a skilled worker visa program popular with tech executives that anti-immigration hawks want to end.
But for MAGA believers, any suggestion that Mr. Trump will renege on his campaign promises in exchange for corporate largesse is anathema. They insist it’s not for sale.
“He doesn’t need money. It really can’t be bought,” says Tom Slack, an industrial painter from Brandon, Minn., who brought his wife and three children to the inauguration.
While the business elite may want to court Mr. Trump, supporters say, that is not who he is. “He’s not part of the establishment. That’s why he’s special,” says Charlene Farmer, a retiree from Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, pulling her red coat over her head to avoid the icy rain shower.
Business leaders fall in line
Analysts say corporate leaders are seeking closer ties with Mr. Trump and his movement Because it’s good for business: it’s up and coming, and a lot of the stigma has dissipated. Some are reviewing company policies, ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and on Wall Street, Backing away from pledges to reduce investments in industries Which contributes significantly to climate change. Taken together, they add up to a shift away from the progressive ideals and regulatory approach of President Joe Biden.
With the exception of Mr. Musk and a handful of right-leaning technology investors, most top business leaders preferred Ms. Harris over Mr. Trump and Trump. He did not donate to his campaign.
But now that he’s in power, it’s not surprising they’ll join him, says Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor of leadership at Yale School of Management. “all [previously] Skeptical CEOs are willing to meet with him… because they want him to succeed. “They want America to succeed.”
Professor Sonnenfeld disputes the idea that companies are “adopting MAGA social policies” to appease Mr. Trump, noting that rollbacks on DEI and other initiatives were already happening under Mr. Biden, as companies looked for efficiencies. “People are noticing in January 2025 what was already happening in January 2022,” he says.
While the amount of money flowing into inauguration festivities has set records, Mr. Trump was not short of money last time around. In 2017, He has raised more than $100 millionincluding from investors and executives who did not support his candidacy.
However, there were fewer champagne balls and black-tie parties that year. The most symbolic event was the “DeploraBall” held at the National Press Club with about 1,000 supporters in attendance, including the Proud Boys, far-right activists and online agitators, some of whom are now household names in the MAGA media. The name of the ball was a reference to Trump’s rival, Hillary Clinton, describing some of his followers as deplorable.
Trump’s Sunday rally, which included singers and entertainers, combined with the bombastic messaging of a campaign event, is not without precedent. In 2009, President Barack Obama held a concert on the National Mall for more than 400,000 people the day before his inauguration. Bruce Springsteen and Garth Brooks were among the superstars on stage.
For Mr. Trump, the adulation and celebration displayed at mass rallies has been a consistent theme in his political career, and a hallmark of the MAGA movement. Even when he became president, he still wanted to return to the stage.
The atmosphere at Sunday’s event was lively, sometimes playful, as Mr. Trump danced with village residents to the YMCA song.
But the event also sent a message from Mr. Trump to those who might dare to stand in his way, Professor Stokes says: “These are the people who will stand by me.” “No matter what.”
