President Donald J. Trump blew off the White House Correspondents Dinner to host a rally in Pennsylvania Saturday with a large crowd of supporters. The event to marked the end of his first 100 days in office and he touted the promises made and promises kept since he was elected to occupy the White House.
“There is no place I would rather be than right here in Pennsylvania to celebrate our 100-day milestone to reflect on an incredible journey together and to get ready for the great, great battles to come and that we will win in every case,” the president told an enthusiastic throng in Harrisburg. “Make no mistake, we are just beginning in our fight to make America great again!”
Vice President Mike Pence introduced the President, calling him “a man of his word and a man of action.” He also acknowledged their 2016 “big, beautiful victory” in the blue-leaning state. President Trump was the first Republican to carry the state of Pennsylvania since George H.W. Bush rode the coattails of his predecessor Ronald Reagan in 1984. He also carried the Blue Wall states of Michigan and Wisconsin, making him the first to do so since 1984 and 1980, respectively.
The rally upstaged the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, which the President Trump said he would not attend. He has repeatedly called out the “fake news” mainstream media and White House press corps, calling them the “dishonest media” revealed to be corrupted by the Democratic Party in WikiLeaks documents dumped during the 2016 presidential election cycle.
At the beginning of the rally, President Trump cited polling showing more than half of Americans say that the media is out of touch with everyday people. The roaring crowd ate it up. Recent polling also shows the American people trust the Trump White House more than the media.
His return to the state of Pennsylvania was a big thank you to his voters, which he also did in Tampa, Florida last month. He said “now arrives the hour of action” –rallying his supporters with the “Buy American and hire American!” credo.
“For the last 100 days my administration has been delivering every single day for the great citizens of our country, whether it’s putting our coal miners back to work, protecting America’s steel and aluminum workers, or eliminating job killing regulations, we are keeping one promise after another and frankly the people are really happy about it,” President Trump said.
“The previous administration gave us a mess. For decades our country has lived through the greatest jobs’ theft in the history of the world. Our factories were shuttered. Our steel mills closed down,” he said. “Our jobs were stolen away and shipped far away to other countries, some of which you have never even heard of. Politicians sent troops to protect the borders of foreign nations but left America’s borders wide open for all to violate.”
He also listed several accomplishments including the Keystone XL pipeline and the appointment of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, despite a politically divided Senate. Mr. Trump is the first president in 136 years to have Supreme Court bragging rights in his first 100 days. The last time it was done was in 1881 and Justice Gorsuch is a relatively young member of the Court.
His textualist legal history and judgement will affect policy for at least 3 decades.
President Trump also signed 78 executive actions in his first 100 days, which will have far-reaching effects on Americans’ lives. That includes 30 executive orders, 27 presidential memoranda and 21 proclamations.
