President-elect Donald Trump pledged change, promised the country would unify and praised his presidential campaign as a “movement” Thursday on the eve of his official inauguration.
Trump delivered remarks during a “Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration” concert in Washington, D.C. after several musicians, including Three Doors Down and Toby Keith, took the stage.
“So this journey began 18 months ago. I had something to do with it, but you had much more to do with it than I did,” Trump told a crowd gathered near the Lincoln Memorial. “I’m the messenger. I’m just the messenger . . . We all got tired of seeing what was happening, and we wanted change. But we wanted real change. And I look so forward to tomorrow. We’re going to see something that is going to be so amazing.”
Trump reiterated his campaign mantra that he would “make America great again” after boasting about his unprecedented “movement” that led him to the Oval Office.
“It’s a movement like we’ve never seen anywhere in the world, they say. There’s never been a movement like this, and it’s something very, very special. And we’re going to unify our country.”
Trump is the first person to be elected president without having prior experience in public office.
“We are going to make America great again. And I’ll add, greater than ever before,” Trump said.
Earlier in the day, Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence attended a traditional wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, which kicked off their first official inaugural events.
Trump will be sworn in as the 45th President of the U.S. on Friday.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Cybersecurity Experts Are Sounding the Alarm on DOGE
- Meet the 2025 Women of the Year
- The Harsh Truth About Disability Inclusion
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Michelle Zauner Stares Down the Darkness
Contact us at letters@time.com