Donald Trump is heading to D.C. for his inauguration – boarding a government jet with wife Melania and son Barron to kick off days of festivities.
Trump waved from the top of the stairs after he got on board in what is likely to be his last flight before taking the Oath of Office on Monday.
All three wore solemn expressions as they left sunny Palm Beach for an incoming Polar Vortex that has forced the inauguration indoors. None were caught smiling while boarding.
It was in keeping with the all-business attitude in Trump’s official inaugural photo, which drew comparisons to his famous mug shot. Melania, who avoided most of Trump’s political events over the last year but turned up for the convention and high-profile moments, has said she’ll spend time in D.C, New York, and Palm Beach during Trump’s second term, following reports she’ll be a part-time first lady.
Barron, who was mostly kept from view as a youngster during Trump’s first term, is now an 18-year old NYU student.
Close family members took off for D.C. aboard the president-elect’s famous red, white, and blue jet as the family prepares to attend the balls, dinners, and rallies that will fill Trump’s inaugural schedule.
Daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, along with their daughter Arabella and sons Joseph and Theodore, crossed the tarmac in West Palm beach to board Trump’s modified 757 minutes ahead of the president-elect.
Ivanka, sporting a blue dress, held Theodore’s hand, as they prepare to get the Trump party started. Ivanka and Jared each served in Trump’s tumultuous first term, but have mostly stepped back from the limelight.
Now, Ivanka’s father is heading to the Capitol in a remarkable turnaround, after skipping Joe Biden’s inauguration four years ago days after the riots of January 6.
After surviving assassination attempts, winning the election, and seeing the criminal cases against him collapse, he now returns to D.C. newly empowered, after vowing to carry out a string of actions on his first day in office.
The former first lady wore a white embroidered suit by Dolce & Gabbana with a white floral brocade suit. She wore it in a previous photo shoot.
Trump, who has vowed retribution against what he calls the ‘deep state’, eschewed his trademark red tie wore one with a blue field and red dots, giving it a nonpartisan purple hue.
A jet emblazoned with the U.S. Government logo was also parked on the tarmac, indicating the president-elect would take the executive aircraft used for VP Kamala Harris and other dignitaries.
‘The President and First Lady are leaving Mar-a-Lago now for Washington, DC, on a great journey of success for our country!’ wrote Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt on X, posting an American flag emoji.
President Joe Biden is set to fly aboard Air Force One to Charleston on Sunday.
Trump waived and pumped his fists upon arrival at dark at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, but didn’t respond to reporter’s questions about moving his inauguration indoors or the cease fire deal for Gaza.
He immediately drove to his Virginia golf club, decked out in red, white and blue lighting. Onlookers along the way shouted ‘USA!’ Trump is hosting a fireworks show there.
Trump is already weighing in on policy proposals in advance of his indoor inauguration Monday, amid an arctic blast hitting D.C. and parts of the country.
He defended Friday’s decision to move the inauguration indoors amid forecasts of chilly temperatures and wind gusts.
‘Well, I feel great. I think we made the right decision, the weather – 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,’ Trump told NBC.
‘So I think we made the right decision. We’ll be very comfortable now, and everybody will be, you know, we – we avoided the weather problem. The weather problem looks pretty severe, the arctic front coming in.’
The decision will deny Trump the opportunity to be pictured in front of thousands who would have gathered on the mall – although it would spare him battles over crowd size in the event people opted to stay home amid the frigid weather.
Trump also weighed in on his plans for mass deportations, amid press reports that the crackdown will begin in Democratic-leaning Chicago on Tuesday.
‘Well, it’s got to happen, and if it doesn’t happen, we’re not going to have a country any longer,’ Trump said.
‘These are rough, tough criminals, and they’ll destroy our country. And if we don’t do it, and if we don’t do it fast, you won’t have a country left,’ he said, while denying to say where it would start.
‘And by the way, I was reading in the Times, the little city that is outside of San Francisco, the levels of crime right there is unbelievable,’ he said, offering one clue.
‘I can’t say which cities because things are evolving. And I don’t think we want to say what city. You’ll see it firsthand,’ Trump said.
Trump is set to host fireworks at his Virginia golf club. There is also a cabinet reception and a dinner for Vice President J.D. Vance.
These events will let bigwigs get a jump on the celebrating, even as the mass event got called off.
Trump’s team is scrambling to organize a version of his parade inside D.C.’s Capitol One arena on Monday in lieu of the outdoor event.