Story highlights Trump laid the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington, Virginia

"That the rhetoric of the campaign moves aside," Barrack said

(CNN) Donald Trump placed the wreath at Arlington National Cemetery in one of the kick-off ceremonial events in advance of his inauguration at the Capitol on Friday.

Flanked by Mike Pence and standing before his children and families, Trump laid the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington, Virginia.

President-elect Donald J. Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence participate in a wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on January 19, 2017 in Arlington, Virginia.

Tom Barrack, the chair of Trump's Inaugural committee and a close friend, said Trump was "transitioning from candidate to president."

"If you look at his eyes at Arlington, you see in that moment, in that anticipation of that peaceful transfer of partisan power, that the rhetoric of the campaign moves aside," he told CNN's Dana Bash and Jake Tapper.

Trump's next stop is a concert on the Mall, which his inauguration committee is dubbing the "The Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration," featuring Toby Keith, 3 Doors Down and Lee Greenwood.