WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump put on his dancing shoes.
Trump kicked off the Monday night celebration, gliding up on stage with first lady Melania, in his first dance as the 47th president at the Commander in Chief Ball. Later came his signature fist-pump dance move.
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be tonight than with some of the greatest American patriots of all – the men and women of the United States military,” Trump said during his remarks Monday evening at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
Sporting a tuxedo and bowtie, he walked hand-in-hand with his wife, in a black and white dress. And, just before 10:30 p.m., the couple shared a first dance to a soulful, Elvis-style rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Vice President JD Vance, also in a tuxedo, and second lady Usha Vance, in a sparkly blue dress, joined the president and first lady for a spin on stage.
The Commander in Chief Ball was only the first of three balls the president planned to stop by on Monday evening. Trump later made an appearance at the Liberty Ball and was headed to Starlight Ball after that.
The balls cap off a marathon day for the president, which started with a church service Monday morning, followed by tea at the White House with Joe Biden, the outgoing president, a swearing-in at noon and remarks at an indoor parade at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
The balls, which are not open to the public, are a longtime tradition that bring together Washington D.C.’s elite and the president’s most ardent supporters. The first inaugural ball was held in 1809 for President James Madison and his wife Dolley, according to the White House Historical Association.
After a 10-minute speech at the Commander in Chief Ball, Trump spoke, through a video feed, to soldiers at a U.S. base in South Korea.
“How’s Kim Jong Un doing?” Trump quipped to the American soldiers. “How are you?”
“That’s a good-looking group of people, isn’t it?” he asked the crowd gathered at the ball.
Before Trump and Vance left, they each sliced at a cake with a saber.
“The Secret Service is getting very nervous right now,” Vance joked as he cut into the cake.
The president offered a final dance to Village People’s “YMCA,” with the saber still in hand, before he departed.
Country band Rascal Flatts and singer-songwriter Parker McCollum were expected to perform at the Commander in Chief Ball, largely for military service members. Sean Hannity, a Fox News commentator and Trump ally, was broadcasting live from the ball, interviewing celebrities such as Kid Rock and actor Jon Voight.
Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, an Army veteran, took selfies, chatted up Kid Rock and mingled with attendees at the ball ahead of Trump’s arrival.
In another part of the convention center, singer-songwriter Jason Aldean took the stage at the Liberty Ball following a rocky performance from Billy Ray Cyrus. Aldean wore an all-black outfit, from his boots to his cowboy hat, and performed for nearly an hour, offering up his controversial song “Try That In A Small Town.”
“You guys ended up making this little big hit for us,” Aldean said of the song. The music video for the song drew backlash when it was released in 2023 for showing clips of protesters yelling at police and igniting American flags.
Later in the evening, at the Liberty Ball, Trump shared another dance with the first lady to the same Elvis-style “Battle Hymn” they’d danced to previously. The Vances came out to join in the dance, as well as Trump’s adult children and their families. His youngest, 18-year-old Baron Trump, was not in attendance.
Following the dance, Vance gave his first remarks of the evening, thanking the supporters in attendance.
“I just want to say we’re so grateful to all of you, so grateful for making sure that we made this election too big to rig,” Vance said.
In brief remarks afterward, Trump thanked his family. Then the Village People performed “YMCA” for the president – this time a live version. Before leaving, Trump told the group’s lead singer Victor Willis that he wasn’t sure the group hit number one when they first released the upbeat single.
“But you know what? They hit number one for the last three weeks, and they are beating every other record – recording,” Trump offered to the attendees. “They’re the number one show in town.”
Trump ended his night at the Starlight Ball at Union Station, where he once again danced to a soulful chorus of “Glory, Glory Hallelujah,” sticking it out until well after midnight.
In one of his final dances of the evening, the president took to the floor alongside his family members and the Vances to Frank Sinatra’s “I Did It My Way.”
