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President-elect Trump estimated the exact time his administration will be “fully operational” on January 20 in his first rally-style speech since his decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris last month.
“You’ve only got a few days to wait. We’ll be fully operational, I would say, around 2:00 on the 20th,” Trump said from the AmericaFest stage.
Trump took the stage from the Phoenix Convention Center Sunday as part of Turning Point’s annual AmericaFest, a four-day event billed as part of the “largest conservative movement in the country,” where the president took a victory lap for his election victory on last month, and also to advance his administration in the waning days of the transition period.
“What brings people together is victory. It’s winning. And we had that for much of my first year. We had the majority, we had the largest economy in history, in our first term. Now we can call it a first term. we had the greatest economy in the history of our country, maybe in the history of any country, and we did things that no one could have done yet. it will be, as we say, ‘drill , baby, drill’. drill, but we’re going to do a lot more than drill,” he said of his victory and the next administration.
President-elect Trump at AmericaFest in Arizona. (Rick Scooteri/AP Photo)
On Saturday evening, Trump issued a message on Truth Social, calling for the United States to regain control of the Panama Canal. During his speech on Sunday, he explained that “we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America in its entirety, quickly and without doubt.”
“A secure Panama Canal is crucial to US trade and the rapid deployment of the Navy from the Atlantic, to the Pacific. It’s an incredible thing. And dramatically reduce shipping times to US ports by days and even weeks The United States is the number one user of the Panama Canal, with more than 72% of all traffic to US ports.
The canal had been under American control since its construction was completed, and began operating in 1914. It was handed over to Panama during the administration of President Jimmy Carter in 1977.
Trump also advanced his next administration, saying that in addition to carrying out the “largest deportation operation in American history,” his administrator will also launch an ad campaign highlighting the evils of drug use, highlighting fentanyl crossing the border.
President-elect Trump on stage at AmericaFest in Arizona. (Cheney Orr/Reuters)
“We’re going to do very big advertising campaigns, just like a presidential campaign. We’re spending a lot of money, but it’s going to be a very small amount, relatively speaking. We’re going to advertise how bad they are. Drugs are for you, they ruin your face If you want to have horrible teeth, take a lot of fentanyl. If you want to have such terrible skin, take fentanyl,” he said.
Efforts to strengthen border security and deport illegal immigrants to the nation, Trump said, will also include efforts to secure the northern border.
“Canada allows people and drugs to come through our northern border. You know, we have a northern border that’s not so good either. Likewise, people are coming from Mexico in numbers that have never, ever been “had seen before. 21 million people have come over the last four years,” he said.
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The Border Patrol picks up a group of asylum seekers from an aid camp at the US-Mexico border near Sasabe, Arizona, on March 13, 2024. (Justin Hamel/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump’s speech on Sunday comes after Congress averted a prolonged government shutdown Saturday morning. House members returned to the negotiating table last week after Trump and allies like Elon Musk blasted a more than 1,500-page bill as “outrageous” and full of overspending.
Trump asked Republicans to suspend the debt limit as part of their talks to avoid a government shutdown. The final bill, however, did not include the suspension of the debt ceiling.
Trump has not spoken publicly since the bill’s passage, including on Sunday, although sources told Fox News that the new president isn’t all that happy about the bill.
The Capitol in Washington is framed by morning clouds on March 19, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
In his speech, Trump reaffirmed his support for former Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth as defense secretary in his second administration, as Hegseth battles allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drug use. alcohol while gathering support for his confirmation among senators. Hegseth has denied the allegations and has vowed not to drink “a drop of alcohol” if he is confirmed to Trump’s cabinet.
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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth attend the 125th football game in ‘Army and Navy on December 14, 2024 in Landover, Maryland. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“To awaken our military and restore the unquestioned strength and fighting spirit of the American armed forces, I have nominated Pete Hegseth to be our next Secretary of Defense. He will be great. You know, I have interviewed him a lot on Fox, and all he wanted to talk about was the military,” he said.
Trump also celebrated his other Cabinet picks, including Pam Bondi for attorney general and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
“When you look at autism, like, 25 years ago, and you look at it now, something happens. And I named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Think about that. Think about that: 25 years ago, autism, 1 in 10,000 children Today it is 1 in every 36 children.
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President-elect Trump promised to free up the energy industry and eliminate “woke” policies from schools and the military, at AmericaFest in Arizona. (Rick Scooteri/AP Photo)
The former president and future president continued in his speech with his typical campaign talking points, promising to keep his promises to free up the energy industry and eliminate “woke” policies from schools and the military.
“I will end day one orders to end all of Biden’s restrictions on energy production. End his insane electric vehicle mandate. Repeal his natural gas export ban, reopen ANWR in Alaska, the largest site potentially in the world, and declare a national energy emergency,” he said.
He adds at another point: “With the stroke of a pen on day one, we will stop transgender insanity. And I will sign executive orders to end child sexual mutilation, get transgender people out of the military and out of our elementary schools. , and middle schools, and high school And we’re going to keep men out of women’s sports.”
Trump also quoted his mother at one point in his speech, citing her use of the word “confused” to describe the Democrats following the elections.
President-elect Trump dances at AmericaFest. (Rick Scooteri/AP Photo)
“If you watch TV now, they’re all bewildered. They don’t know what the hell happened. They’re bewildered. To use a very beautiful word my mother used years ago, talking about someone who’s a disaster. But they’ve lost confidence and we hope they lose her for a long time and then come to our side because we want them,” he said.
AmericaFest began Dec. 19 in Phoenix and will conclude Sunday after Trump’s speech. The annual event is billed as one that re-energizes students and conservative voters.”while celebrating the greatest country in the world.” The venue has a capacity of about 14,000 people, while Turning Point reported that about 21,000 tickets were sold for the convention.
“We are incredibly honored to have President Trump deliver his first rally-style speech since the election at AmFest 2024 in Phoenix,” Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk said in a press release ahead of the event “This was already the movement’s largest multi-day event, and this year will be the largest we’ve organized by far.”
