President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office have spooked financial markets, tested legal bounds and turned the federal government upside-down, denting his poll numbers in the process.
On April 29 during a rally in Michigan, Trump claimed it’s all going according to plan.
“We’ve accomplished more in three months than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years,” the president declared.
Trump’s second administration has opened with a furious blitz of conservative policy focused around deportations, deep cuts to federal agencies and tariffs. Polls show most Americans think he has gone too far on all of those issues.
A New York Times/Sienna College survey released April 25 found majorities of those surveyed disapprove of his handling of the economy, immigration, the federal bureaucracy and overall job performance.
Faced with a growing backlash, Trump tried to sell his agenda to the American people at the Warren rally, his first domestic trip since the inauguration that wasn’t to one of his own properties. Trump defended his efforts on tariffs, immigration and DOGE and promised much more to come.
“We’re just getting started,” he said, standing in front of supporters waving “MAGA” and “USA” signs.
Here are four takeaways from Trump’s Michigan rally.
‘A little time before we slaughter them’ on tariffs
Trump’s handling of the economy has been especially concerning for many Americans.
Key stock market indexes are down significantly since Trump first took office and economic forecasters say the likelihood of a recession has increased amid looming trade wars sparked by the president’s tariffs.
The New York Times/Sienna College survey found that 55% of respondents disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy. An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released April 27 found that 72% of those surveyed say Trump’s policies are likely to cause a recession.
Michigan’s auto industry has been hit hard by globalization, though, and Trump said his policies will help restore manufacturing in the state, pointing to tariffs on foreign automobiles.
“This is going to create more jobs in this state and this country,” he said.
Trump has walked back some of his tariffs amid concerns about their economic impact. He eased the auto levies on the same day of the rally, pitching the move as giving car companies “a little bit of flexibility.”
“We give them a little time before we slaughter them if they don’t do this,” he said.
Not ‘under the thumb of Elon’
The dramatic overhaul of federal agencies pushed by Elon Musk and DOGE dominated the early days of Trump’s first term.
DOGE has fired tens of thousands of federal workers and dismantled whole agencies in a quest to reduce spending and improve efficiency. Democrats have slammed Musk’s approach as haphazard and chaotic. Many Americans seem to agree, with 52% saying in the New York Times/Sienna College poll that they disapprove of how Trump is handling the federal government.
The huge leeway Trump has given Musk with DOGE has prompted criticism from Democrats that the billionaire is running the government.
“You know they all say, oh, well Trump is under the thumb of Elon,” Trump told the crowd.
Trump noted he repealed former President Joe Biden‘s electric vehicle push despite Musk running electric car company Tesla. He praised Musk’s work at DOGE, though.
“On day one I created that . . . very successful Department of Government Efficiency headed by Elon. That was a big thing doing that,” he said, touting DOGE moves such as dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Trump touts Alien Enemies Act
Immigration has long been a focus for Trump and an issue he points to as pivotal to his political success.
He promised mass deportations during the campaign and is following through. But his deportation tactics have sparked outrage.
Trump declared members of crime gangs Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as foreign terrorist organizations and invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport them more swiftly. But courts all the way up to the Supreme Court have temporarily paused the removals while hearing arguments about whether the migrants deserve hearings to voice their side of the story and to deny their membership in the gangs.
Trump touted the lengths his administration has gone to in pushing deportations, including using the Alien Enemies Act against alleged foreign gang members.
“They’ve been designated the highest level of terrorists, and that lets us do a lot of things that you wouldn’t be able to do,” he said.
“We’ve invoked the Alien Enemies Act to expel every foreign terrorist from our soil as quickly as possible,” he added.
Illegal crossings dropped 95% at the Southwest border in March, to fewer than 7,200 migrant encounters from more than 137,000 encounters the same month a year ago, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.
‘Trump 2028 anybody?’
Trump is prohibited by the Constitution from seeking a third term. But he’s openly toyed with the idea.
The president said in an NBC interview that he’s “not joking” about the possibility of staying in office.
“A lot of people want me to do it,” Trump said. “But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.”
At the Michigan rally Trump aide Margo Martin raised the prospect of a third term when the president called her onto the stage.
“Trump 2028 anybody?” Martin said.
Trump seemed to relish being back among a rally crowd, saying “I miss the campaign.” He returned to many of his favorite campaign lines, jabbing at Biden and his 2024 Democratic opponent Kamala Harris.
Contributing: Bart Jansen
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Takeaways from Trump Michigan rally touting first 100 days
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