At 100 days in, Trump rallies backers in PA, claims ‘change’

Trump’s absence from the dinner became a topic of conversation early in the event when White House Correspondents’ Association President Jeff Mason received a standing ovation after professing that the press is not the enemy of the American people – a reference to an attack line Trump delivered early in his presidency.

Donald Trump hailed a “very productive” first 100 days as America’s president on Saturday, telling a roaring crowd of supporters other “great battles” ahead would be won.

President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn as he arrives at the White House in Washington, Friday, April 28, 2017, returning from traveling to Atlanta to speak at the National Rifle Association Leadership Forum.

In February, Trump had announced that he will not appear at the WHCA dinner this year, a break with past presidents, adding his absence from the event is for the best.

The White House on Monday struggled to explain the president’s assertion that the health care bill guaranteed coverage for people pre-existing conditions. “Others may disagree about that”.

He was scheduled to visit the Ames tool factory in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, which has manufactured shovels since 1774, and then hold a campaign-style rally in Harrisburg, the state capital.

Trump spoke just 40 miles from Gettysburg, where in October he laid out a largely unaccomplished 10-point plan for his first 100 days in office. “Don’t worry about it. (.) We need the wall”, Trump said. The bankers are wearing Trump inspired red baseball caps that say, “Make Community Banking Great Again!” But now that you guys are minorities, just for this moment, you might understand the position I was in, and it’s the same position a lot of minority kids feel in this country. Trump was set to sign an executive order issuing directions to review all worldwide trade agreements inked by the U.S., including the WTO, in a bid to address trade “violations and abuses”.

Trump’s absence marked the first president-less Correspondents Dinner since Reagan skipped the event in 1981, missing the gathering after his infamous assassination attempt, though he still gave his regards via telephone.

Mr Trump described cable TV news channels CNN and MSNBC as “fake news” and said reporters from the outlets “would love to be with us right here tonight”. Trump ended up being the butt of the jokes that night from comedian Seth Meyers and Obama himself.

From one day to the next, you never know what the administration’s priorities are and what will occupy its time in the coming weeks. After serving as commander in chief for 100 days, his achievements, as well as shortfalls, were being closely scrutinized.

In another campaign-trail promise, Donald Trump pledged to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, to reconsider the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico (NAFTA), which he said had caused a great deal of damage to the USA economy and prevented the creation of new jobs in the United States.

The next 100 days will also see him venture overseas for the first time as President, and may begin to reveal exactly what he means when he talks about an “America First” foreign policy.

Trump has signed dozens of executive orders, including several that roll back Obama-era regulations on industry or lift bans on oil and gas drilling, efforts widely praised by Republican lawmakers and voters. If Trump’s report card after 100 days is a solid F, what do you give Congress?

The remainder of the rally was ripped from Trump’s familiar political playbook and was like traveling back in time to his best moments on the 2016 campaign trail. Even his promise to build a wall on the border with Mexico has been caught up in a spending debate, with no support from Democrats and little to no progress being made.