Basking in the adulation of cheering supporters in Michigan on Tuesday, the 78-year-old touted the “most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of our country,” even as polls show Americans becoming disenchanted with the economic and political tumult.
Trump said he missed the campaign trail, and launched with visible relish into a speech that often sounded more like that of a candidate than a head of state.
Joe Biden is “sleepy,” the media is “fake,” judges who oppose him are “communist,” Democratic opponents are “radical left,” and friendly countries have “abused us more so than foe on trade,” Trump said, listing targets of his ire.
The president promised to conclude deals on trade but provided little in the way of details.
And – to chants of “USA! USA!” – he showed a video of migrants in handcuffs and shackles being taken from a plane, transported by bus and filmed on their knees as their heads were shaved, illustrating his controversial deportation policy.
Trump has shaken up the United States like few presidents before him.
His billionaire backer Elon Musk has led dramatic cutbacks of the federal workforce, and the president himself has reshaped relations with the world by unveiling sweeping tariffs, berating allies and eliminating much foreign aid.
Polls show that the honeymoon period that Americans historically accord presidents at the start of their terms has evaporated for Trump, who has angrily dismissed the results, but has tacitly acknowledged that he must moderate some policies as stock market turmoil takes a toll.
He also recently backtracked on threats to fire Jerome Powell – who has warned that Trump’s tariffs would likely reignite inflation – but still criticized the Federal Reserve chairman on Tuesday as “not really doing a good job.”
He said he was on track to accomplish all of his second-term goals.
“I think either we’ve done everything, or it’s in the process of being done,” Trump said before heading to his rally.
Unlike most presidents, Trump has focused more on energizing his base than broadening his appeal – and many supporters are still with him.
The rival Democratic Party has seized on economic anxieties although it has also struggled in polling.
“Trump is to blame for the fact that life is more expensive, it’s harder to retire, and a ‘Trump recession’ is at our doorstep,” the Democratic national committee said, calling the 100 days a “colossal failure.”
Even with Congress narrowly in Republican hands, Trump has tested the limits of presidential power by signing more than 140 executive orders, many of which have faced court scrutiny. (AFP)
