Trump rallies supporters in Michigan to mark 100 days in office

Boston Globe

30-04-2025

'In 100 days, we have delivered the most profound change in Washington in 100 years,' Trump said.
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In the first three months of his second term, Trump has imposed tariffs on foreign imports, reshaping the global economy and sending markets into a frenzy. He has imposed drastic government cuts, rattling millions in the federal workforce. He has threatened to take Greenland, pressed for significant deportations of undocumented immigrants, and issued pardons to those who participated in the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
'We've just gotten started,' he said here, taking the stage to Lee Greenwood's 'God Bless the USA.' 'You haven't seen anything yet.'
Trump focused many of his remarks on immigration, the issue that most riles up his base, and at one point paused to show a video of migrants being taken to El Salvador that pictured them in chains and on flights. When it was over, the crowd rose to its feet and chanted, 'USA! USA!'
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The rally had the feel of a festival. Hawkers sold T-shirts and hats that read, 'Trump 2028,' suggesting Trump might be unbound by the Constitution and serve a third term. An ambulance was emblazoned with 'Trump Save the USA' on the side.
'I love it,' said Charles Bryant, a 53-year-old from Shelby Township who had a career working at Ford and wore a 'Gulf of America' T-shirt and a hat he got at the inauguration. 'He's making omelets, just shaking everything up. Tariffs. Trade. He's confusing everybody!'
Before he left for Michigan, Trump signed a pair of executive orders that walked back some tariffs for carmakers, removing levies that Ford, General Motors, and others have complained would backfire on US manufacturing by raising the cost of production and squeezing their profits.
The changes will modify Trump's tariffs so carmakers that pay a 25 percent tariff on auto imports are not subject to other levies, for example on steel and aluminum, or on certain imports from Canada and Mexico, according to the orders. However, the rules do not appear to protect automakers from tariffs on steel and aluminum that their suppliers pay and pass on.
Carmakers will also be able to qualify for tariff relief for a proportion of the cost of their imported components, though those benefits will be phased out over the next two years.
Ahead of the rally, Trump landed at nearby Selfridge Air National Guard base, appearing alongside Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat whom he has at times antagonized. She has long advocated for a new fighter jet mission for the state base, which Trump announced shortly after getting off Air Force One.
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'I want to thank Governor Gretchen Whitmer for bringing it to our attention very strongly,' Trump said. 'I'm not supposed to do that. She's a Democrat. … She's done a very good job, frankly.'
Whitmer traveled to the White House earlier this month to lobby Trump for funding for Selfridge, a trip that turned out to be politically awkward for the potential 2028 presidential candidate. She was invited into the Oval Office for an unrelated event at which Trump signed executive orders that in part targeted political enemies. A New York Times photo later showed her covering her face from the camera while she was watching Trump from the perimeter of the room.
Whitmer said she did not know ahead of time what Trump was planning to do in the Oval Office and that she did not endorse his actions by attending. She has made light of the photo but also defended the trip, saying it is her job to build a working relationship with the president to help her constituents.
'I am really damn happy we're here to celebrate this recapitalization at Selfridge,' she said. 'It's crucial for the Michigan economy. It's crucial for the men and women here, for our homeland security and our future. So thank you. I'm so, so grateful that this announcement was made today.'
Four Democratic governors on Tuesday night scheduled a 'virtual town hall' to address his first 100 days in office. The call, which was set to feature Tim Walz of Minnesota, JB Pritzker of Illinois, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, and Kathy Hochul of New York, was hosted by the Democratic-aligned media company MeidasTouch.
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Trump mocked Democrats during the rally — 'They have no confidence anymore as a party. They have no candidates' — as well as the efforts to impeach him. 'What the hell did I do that they want to impeach me?,' he said as the crowd laughed.