US President Donald Trump has touted what he called a series of major economic wins and forcefully attacked Democrats during a rally in Michigan, as polling showed Americans growing more sceptical of his hardline approaches on trade and immigration.
During a campaign-style rally meant to commemorate his first 100 days in office, Mr Trump said his moves to impose tariffs on the US’s trading partners could lead to a resurgence in domestic manufacturing.
“We had the greatest economy in the history of our country,” Mr Trump said of his first presidency, from 2017 to 2021. “We did great, and we’re doing better now.”
Americans have cooled on aspects of Mr Trump’s performance in recent weeks. In particular, people are fretting about his economic stewardship amid stubborn inflation.
Mr Trump renewed his criticisms of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying the central bank head was not doing a good job.
He doubled down on calls for Congress to slash taxes, a plan that nonpartisan budget analysts said could add trillions to the nation’s $36.6 trillion in debt.
“In the coming weeks and months, we will pass the largest tax cuts in American history, and that will include no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime,” Mr Trump told the crowd in Warren, which is home to the General Motors Technical Center and located about a dozen miles from downtown Detroit.
Watch: Donald Trump says his is the most successful 100 start of any US president
The president slammed “radical left lunatics,” briefly verbally sparred with a heckler, and polled the crowd for their favourite nicknames for his predecessor, Joe Biden.
Mr Trump, who spoke in front of a banner that read, ‘The Golden Age’, paused to show supporters a slickly produced video montage highlighting the results of his administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration: alleged gang members getting their heads shaved and put in prison.
Speaking briefly at a National Guard base before the rally, the president touted his administration’s investments in defence.
“I’ll be supporting a record-setting $1 trillion investment in our national defence,” said Mr Trump, speaking before dozens of troops, as well as his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Mr Trump told the crowd at the military base in Selfridge, that the base would receive 21 Boeing F-15X jets.
Ms Whitmer said in a statement the move secured the base’s mission and was a “huge, bipartisan win for Michigan” that will protect jobs.
Yesterday, Mr Trump signed an order to soften the blow of his auto tariffs with a mix of credits and relief from other levies.
At the Warren rally, he cast his tariffs as an economic lifeline for Michigan.
“With my China tariffs, we’re ending the greatest job theft in the history of the world,” Mr Trump said to cheers. “China has taken more jobs from us than any country has ever taken from another country.”
Mr Trump added that he thought a trade deal with China was on the horizon. “But it’s going to be a fair deal,” he said.
Fears of a recession have surged as Mr Trump has launched a global trade war, hiking tariffs to levels that economists warn could grind trade with some countries – notably China – nearly to a halt. The moves have shaken both investors and companies.
Still, the audience in Michigan was largely unconcerned.
Paul Ruggeri, a 65-year-old retired steelworker, said he was fine with some short-term economic pain to support Mr Trump’s policies.
“I don’t want the economy to tank, but we can’t continue down the road we’re going,” Mr Ruggeri said.
“We’ve got to make changes. It’s going to be painful for a little while. We’re going to see some price increases probably. But it’s got to change.”
Democrats railed against Mr Trump’s presidency on the Senate floor yesterday evening under the counter-programming banner, ‘100 days of chaos’, with multiple speeches.
Some described Senate Republicans as “co-conspirators” who secretly oppose Mr Trump’s agenda but refuse to voice full-throated criticism.
“The president is testing and violating the bounds of our constitution, amassing power for himself as the economy tanks, violating the rights of Americans and destroying our image abroad,” Senator Richard Durbin, of Illinois, the chamber’s No 2 Democrat, said.
“But it seems the ambition of the Republican-controlled legislative branch is all but absent as Donald Trump’s government goes out of control … It is, in fact, the silence of the lambs.”
Outside the community college where Mr Trump’s rally was held, protesters lined a busy street, carrying upside down American flags and waving signs that read: “I dissent”.
Mr Trump told the crowd inside that 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.
Former president 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,” Mr Trump said, listing targets of his ire.
Mr 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 Mr Trump, who has angrily dismissed the results, but has tacitly acknowledged that he must moderate some policies as stock market turmoil takes a toll.
Wall Street, down more than 6% since Mr Trump took office, ticked up yesterday on news he would soften some of the sweeping tariffs impacting automakers.
After a 2017-2021 term in which some aides sought to rein him in, Mr Trump has surrounded himself this time with unabashed loyalists – and told reporters he was on track to accomplish all of his second-term goals.
Unlike most presidents, Mr Trump has focused more on energising his base than broadening his appeal – and many supporters are still with him.
“He’s amazing. Everybody’s worried about tariffs. We don’t care – look at everything else that’s coming together too,” said Donna Fitzsimons, a 65-year-old merchandise seller at the Michigan rally venue ahead of Mr Trump’s appearance.
“People don’t realise it takes time to get where you need to go,” she added.
Even with Congress narrowly in Republican hands, Mr Trump has tested the limits of presidential power by signing more than 140 executive orders, many of which have faced court scrutiny.
He has sought to end birthright citizenship – which is guaranteed by the US Constitution – and Mr Musk has summarily axed billions of dollars appropriated by Congress.
