A plane carrying President-elect Donald Trump has landed at Dulles International Airport in suburban Washington.
Trump was planning to head to his golf club in nearby Sterling, Virginia, for dinner with officials in his incoming admission and a reception featuring fireworks.
Trump was set to spend the night at Blair House, the president’s traditional guesthouse, across the street from the White House.
When Donald Trump returns to the White House on Monday, his family circle will look a little different than it did when he first arrived eight years ago.
His youngest son, Barron, was in fifth grade back then. He’s now a college freshman who towers over his 6-foot-plus (1.8-meter-plus) dad. Granddaughter Kai, who was 9 in 2017, is now an aspiring social media influencer and impressive golfer. Grandson Joseph, who posed in Trump’s lap with a Lego model of the White House last time, is 11 now.
The president-elect has five children — three of whom are married — from his marriages to Ivana Trump, Marla Maples and current wife Melania Trump. He has 10 grandkids, with an 11th on the way.
▶ Read about how Trump’s family has changed since his last inauguration
Trump’s Saturday evening plans in the Washington area include a fireworks show and reception at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia.
Vice President-elect JD Vance plans to attend an evening reception for incoming Cabinet members and will host a dinner in Washington.
On Sunday, Trump will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. In the evening, he will hold a campaign-style “MAGA Victory” rally at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, D.C.
▶ See the schedule of inaugural events
President-elect Donald Trump entered a government plane close to 4:30 p.m. to head to Washington. He arrived at a West Palm Beach, Florida, airport in a motorcade with his wife, Melania, and his son, Barron.
Promptly after leaving the motorcade, the family walked up the steps to the plane and Trump stopped before entering to turn around and wave.
Multiple staffers also entered from the back entrance of the plane, while Trump entered and stayed in the first few rows.
Protective fencing on Constitution Avenue and the Capitol complex is seen as preparations continue for Inauguration Day, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Anyone who has a ticket for Donald Trump’s event at the Capitol One Arena on Monday afternoon will need to prepare for some walking.
Security officials said they will close access to the nearest Metro station, which is Gallery Place-Chinatown, and encourage people to use Metro Center instead.
The closure is part of a series of changes prompted by the decision to hold inaugural activities indoors because of frigid weather.The latest map of transit closures is available here.
People’s March on Washington: 1.18.2025
The People’s March, which wrapped up late Saturday afternoon, drew thousands of protesters to the nation’s capital to speak out in favor of reproductive rights, among other issues they feel will be threatened ahead of Donald Trump’s second term.
With the Washington Monument in the background, demonstrators hold their signs up as they protest President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration during the People’s March, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
President-elect Donald Trump will be leaving from a West Palm Beach airport at 4:30 p.m. to Washington on a government plane.
Eric and Lara Trump arrived at the airport at about 3:30 p.m. to enter Trump’s plane, with their two children. More grandchildren arrived prior, and staff loaded their bags into the plane.
Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and family, arrive to board an Air Force Special Air Mission airplane as it stands ready for President-elect Donald Trump to arrive at Palm Beach International Airport Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 in West Palm Beach, Fla., for travel to Washington. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
The mood of the march was different from that of the original Women’s March, and the crowd far smaller.
Speaker Monica Simpson, executive director of the women of color-led reproductive justice organization SisterSong, praised Black women’s leadership in the fight for reproductive rights but acknowledged fear at what lay ahead.
“I will be honest with you all, though,” Simpson said. “Today isn’t easy. Like many of my Black women comrades, I am tired. I am angry, and honestly I am scared.”
The audience listening to her stretched some of the way down the sides of the Reflecting Pool. Organizers have stressed that record crowds gathered for the 2017 march shouldn’t be a yardstick for other protests.
Another speaker rallied the marchers, some wrapped in blankets. “Our feet are cold but our hearts are warm,” the speaker cried.
A diverse range of speakers talked to the crowd from the foot of the Lincoln Memorial after the march — a union organizer, an advocate for Palestinian rights, an activist for transgender people, and others.
Raquel Willis, co-founder of Gender Liberation Movement, applauded organizers’ efforts to be more inclusive in this year’s march, after criticism that the 2017 Women’s March focused too narrowly on problems impacting white women.
Willis in her remarks urged marchers to “defy every bogeyman you can think of, from white supremacy to patriarchy to transphobia to ableism and capitalism.”
“Because you have to be treating people fairly,” Trump told NBC News in a phone interview Saturday. “You can’t just say, ‘Oh, everything’s going to be wonderful.’ You know, we went through hell for four years with these people. And so, you know, something has to be done about it. … You can’t have that happen, and we shouldn’t have that happen.”
He added that he feels “great” about the decision to move the inaugural ceremony indoors for the first time since 1985. Cold temperatures and frigid winds are in the forecast for Monday.
“I think we made the right decision,” Trump said. “The weather was really looking bad in terms of the coldness, and I think it would have been dangerous for a lot of people, the crowds and everything else. So I think we made the right decision. We’ll be very comfortable now.”
President-elect Donald Trump will once again fly to Washington aboard a government plane, rather than his Trump-embossed personal aircraft, as he heads to the capital Saturday ahead of his Monday inauguration.
Trump will be transported in a C-32, the military variant of the Boeing 757 plane he has owned for years, painted in the iconic powder blue and white color scheme. It’s a plane that would be known as Air Force One if the president is aboard, but is today Special Air Mission 47 — a reference to Trump becoming the 47th president on Monday.
(AP Photo/Stephany Matat)
He used a government aircraft to take him to Washington ahead of his first inauguration in 2017 as well. It’s a courtesy traditionally extended by the outgoing administration to the incoming one.
Trump did not make a government plane available to Biden ahead of his inauguration in 2021, and instead, the Democrat flew to Washington on a privately chartered aircraft.
Trump says he plans to visit California during his first week in office to see devastation from wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in a phone interview Saturday that he’d planned to go earlier but decided it would be better if he went as president.
The incoming president said he’s not spoken to California Gov. Gavin Newsom since the fires broke out. Trump has long been fiercely critical of Newsom and the state’s water policies that seek to balance environmental concerns with the interests of farmers and cities.
Trump suggested disaster relief for California is not an immediate priority.
“We’re going to, no, we’re going to (look) at it from a lot of standpoints,” Trump responded when asked whether he would pursue fire relief on his first day in office.
“We’re going to be demanding that the water be released from the north into the lower parts of California.”
Thousands are gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial for a rally. “Before we do anything about democracy, we have to fight our own despair!,” said one of the event’s first speakers, Rachel O’Leary Carmona, the Executive Director of Women’s March.
People march in the People’s March, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Trump said he will “most likely” will give TikTok a 90-day extension to comply with a law requiring the social media app to shut down in the U.S. unless it is sold by its China-based parent company.
The president-elect told NBC News in a phone interview on Saturday that, “The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate.” He added that if he decides to grant the extension, he would likely announce it Monday, the day he’s sworn into office as president.
That is a day too late for the current deadline in the law that requires the app to shut down on Sunday unless it complies. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the law on Friday.
Though the Biden administration said it would not enforce a shutdown of the app in the final days before Trump comes in, TikTok said it would have to “go dark” this weekend.
As the protesters approached the Washington Monument, a small group of men in MAGA hats on the sidewalk drew the attention of a protest leader with a megaphone.
The leader veered closer, chanting “No Trump, no KKK.”
One of the men, Timothy Wallis, 58, of Pocatello, Idaho, said his friends had just purchased the hats from a seller on the street minutes before. He said they flew in for the inauguration and had tickets to the outdoor ceremony, but found out on the plane that it had been moved indoors, and they could no longer attend.
Wallis said the protesters had “every right” to march. But he seemed puzzled by the hostility.
“It’s sad where we’re at as a country,” Wallis said.
Thousands of signs with different messages dotted K Street NW as protesters staged at three different areas within a five-block radius.
Lillian Fenske, 31, drove six hours from Greensboro, North Carolina, to participate. Her signs expressed concern over oligarchs and the disunity. “America is not for sale,” said one, while another said simply, “Divided We Fall.”
Nearby, Ary Mondragon, 39, and Ren Lee, in her late 30s, stood near a plywood tank with Peace Tank on the side. Lee, a local activist, said, “It’s not really about the White House or DC, or just our streets or even America. It is global, the inequality, the way that our economic injustices are shaped in every single fashion and every single corner of this world. When we think about the peace tank, it’s really about a movement for equality.”
Mondragon said the tank, which has been a fixture at recent protests, is full of symbolism. “It’s actually a piece of art that does not move unless we all push together. It’s always a physical representation of our collective power and the collective liberation and energy,” she said.
The People’s March began at 11 a.m. at three downtown D.C. locations.
A “kick-off” event focusing on democracy, immigration, anti-militarism and climate change began at Farragut Square with progressive organizations such as Popular Democracy and Democratic Socialists of America. In McPherson Square, local organizations such as the Palestinian Youth Movement D.C. focused on issues specifically related to Washington, D.C.
And in Franklin Park, a kick-off centered around gender justice, LGBTQ+ issues and reproductive rights. After these opening events, marchers will make their way to the Lincoln Memorial, where the People’s March will culminate at 1 p.m. with a larger rally and fair.
This is where organizations at the local, state and national level will host information tables. Meanwhile, over 350 similar rallies are taking place across the country.
A volunteer speaks to others in Farragut Square before the start of the People’s March, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Gary Devaan of Minneapolis said he grappled with concern about violence from either the incoming Trump administration or its supporters before deciding to come to Saturday’s march.
“I questioned whether there could be Proud Boys that would be interested in beating us,” Devaan said, referring to an extremist group that has aligned with Trump.
Devaan also alluded to President-elect Donald Trump’s threats of force to quell protests in his first term.
“Before the inauguration, he at least can’t have the national guard shooting us in the leg,” he said. He added, “With this administration, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities.”
Opera singer Christopher Macchio, Trump’s choice to sing the national anthem at the inauguration ceremony, told The Associated Press on Saturday that the decision to move indoors to the Capitol Rotunda would help the sound of the music and his vocal performance.
But, Macchio said, “I have to say, I was looking forward to seeing 100,000 people spread across the National Mall. So unfortunately, I won’t be getting that visual while I perform, but it’s still going to be such a tremendous honor.”
Macchio said he and country artists Lee Greenwood and Carrie Underwood, who will sing “America the Beautiful,” planned to rehearse in the new space Sunday.
The Willard Hotel is festooned with American flags and a sign that says: “The Willard Intercontinental salutes America’s 47th president.”
The Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington, D.C. on January 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsay Whitehurst)
Rick Glatz, of Manchester, New Hampshire, had a straightforward reason for turning out Saturday: “I’m a grandpa. And that’s why I’m marching.”
Concern for the future that his four granddaughters would face made Glatz determined to show support for women’s reproductive rights, education and the fight against climate change.
“The incoming administration is going to do nothing and even make it worse,” he said, speaking up over pounding drums as crowds gathered for Saturday’s demonstrations.
On Pennsylvania Avenue, crews were breaking down metal bleachers that would have been used for outdoor inauguration viewing stands before freezing temperatures predicted for Monday forced the ceremonies indoors.
Crews dismantling bleachers outdoors ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, which has been moved indoors due to cold weather in the nation’s capital.
Melody Hamoud and Anna Bergman came for the march wearing original pink pussyhats from the 2017 Women’s March.
Bergman, a high school history teacher, came from Minnesota just to attend today.
“I guess I just wanted to be surrounded by likeminded people on a day like today,” she said.
Both attended the original women’s march and Bergman carried a sign that declared, “I used up all my good sign ideas back in 2017.”
Hamoud, a DC resident, said she was hoping to rekindle the spirit of that march. “I just didn’t want to sit home and fret in front of the TV,” she said. “I wanted to feel like our movement still has energy and be around others who felt the same.”
Franklin Square was filled with hundreds of people focused on issues like reproductive and LGBT rights. They carried signs like Save America and “Against abortions? Then don’t have one” and “Hate won’t win.”
Dakota Miller, 24, drove down from Bedford, Penn., and carried a sign that read Proud of My Trans Sisters. “Trump is an absolute danger,” Miller said.
Miller fears a second Trump administration could bring threats to her right to possibly marry her girlfriend, or get an abortion if she were to need one.
“We’re scared,” said Heather Hogset, 48, another friend from Bedford PA, who has a son who is gay and a husband who is an immigrant.
“We are the majority,” the crowd chanted under a slate gray sky, with a light chilly wind blowing.
A light sleet fell outside one of the DC Metro stations as a small group of protesters headed downtown, kicking off several days of what will be protests and celebrations.
Some talked about the lack of energy this time, compared to the 2016 women’s march, suggesting people were shocked and weary.
As the subway came closer, it picked up larger groups.
Jill Parrish, 55, from Austin, Texas held a sign saying that women should resist the misogyny.
“I flew in last night. Honestly, I had bought a ticket to come to DC to attend Kamala Harris’s inauguration. And, when that didn’t transpire, I decided to go ahead and I change my ticket to come earlier and, come to support this March instead and to leave before the inauguration, because the last thing I want is to be here.”
Jill Parrish, 55, from Austin, Texas, traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the People’s March to protest during a weekend of celebrations leading up to Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday. She held a sign saying that women should resist the misogyny. (AP Photo/Gary Fields)
Parrish added that she thinks it’s important that the world knows that more than half the country did not vote for the incoming administration. “Most importantly, I’m here to demonstrate my fear, about the state of our democracy.”
Members of the U.S. military on stage during the rehearsal at the U.S. Capitol ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration, Jan. 12, 2025, in Washington.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
The U.S. Capitol rotunda where Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony is set to take place on Monday can only hold about 600 people, according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
The ceremony was moved indoors because a blast of cold Arctic air is set to plunge Washington into frigid temperatures. But that has left many of the more than 250,000 guests who were ticketed to watch the inauguration from around the Capitol grounds scrambling to determine if and how they will be able to watch.
Trump’s inaugural committee said it would use the city’s Capitol One Arena for people to view the ceremony and would plan to visit after he takes the oath of office. The arena has a capacity of 20,000 people.
Donald Trump will return to Washington Saturday to kick off days of pageantry to herald his second inauguration as president, four years after he departed the city under the shadow of an attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol.
The ritualistic changing of power will get underway as Washington’s solemn pomp is paired with Trump’s brand of party: a fireworks showcase at one of his luxury golf properties, guests including tech industry titans, friends from the business world and conservative media stars, and thousands of his supporters streaming in from around the country.
▶ Read more about what to expect from inauguration weekend
Cole Archer works on a protest sign during a meeting of NC Forward in High Point, N.C., Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. The group is traveling to Washington to take part in the People’s March on Jan. 18 ahead of the inauguration. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Eight years since its historic first march, the Women’s March is returning Saturday to the nation’s capital just before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Rebranded and reorganized, the rally has a new name — the People’s March — as a means to broaden support, especially during a reflective moment for progressive organizing after Trump’s decisive win in November. The Republican takes the oath of office Monday.
Women outraged over Trump’s 2016 presidential win flocked to Washington in 2017 and organized large rallies in cities throughout the country, building the base of a grassroots movement that became known as the Women’s March. The Washington rally alone attracted over 500,000 marchers, and millions more participated in local marches around the country, marking one of the largest single-day demonstrations in U.S. history.
This year, the march is expected to be about one-tenth the size of the first one and comes amid a restrained moment of reflection as many progressive voters navigate feelings of exhaustion, disappointment and despair after Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss.
▶ Read more about the People’s March
