Long lines of supporters snaked around several city blocks in Washington’s Chinatown neighborhood, with soldiers directing people towards the Capital One arena, a 20,000-seat stadium that is home to the city’s basketball and ice hockey teams.
At one street corner, a performer dressed in a colonial-era uniform sang into a microphone, as the crowd around him swayed.
At others, Christian preachers stood at fold-up tables, quoting the Bible and extoling the virtues of God, often to appreciative nods.
Some supporters were draped in US flags, while others wore capes emblazoned with Trump’s blood-spattered face from a failed assassination attempt, and the slogan “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Several carts selling Trump-related merchandise did brisk business, with vendors saying the frigid temperatures were seeing Trump-branded scarves and woollen hats fly off the racks.
‘Government is a business’
Temperatures in Washington plummeted on Sunday, with heavy snow falling later in the afternoon and even lower temperatures — and high winds — forecast for Monday.
