US President Donald Trump touted what he called a "series of big economic victories" and lashed out at Democrats at a rally in Michigan on Wednesday, as polls showed Americans were increasingly skeptical of his hardline approach to trade and immigration.
During a campaign-style rally to mark his first 100 days in office, Trump said his moves to impose tariffs on U.S. trading partners could lead to a revival of domestic manufacturing.
"We had the greatest economy in the history of our country," Trump said of his first presidency, from 2017-2021. "We were great, and now we're doing better."
Trump renewed his criticism of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, saying the central bank chief is not doing a good job.
He called on Congress to cut taxes, a plan that nonpartisan budget analysts said could add trillions to the nation's $36,6 trillion debt.
"In the coming weeks and months, we will be delivering the biggest tax cuts in American history, and that will include no tip tax, no Social Security tax, no overtime tax," Trump told a crowd in Warren, home to the General Motors Technical Center and about 10 miles from downtown Detroit.
The president lashed out at "radical leftist lunatics," briefly verbally clashed with a heckler (a person who tries to confuse), and polled the audience on their favorite nicknames for his predecessor, President Joseph Biden.
Trump, speaking 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 having their heads shaved and put in jail. The crowd cheered.
In a brief speech at a National Guard base before the rally, the US president praised his administration's investments in defense.
"I will support a record trillion-dollar investment in our national defense," Trump said, speaking before dozens of soldiers, as well as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Trump told the crowd at Selfridges Air Force Base that the base would receive 21 Boeing BA.N F-15Ks.
Whitmer said in a statement that the move secured the base's mission and was a "huge, bipartisan victory for Michigan" that would protect jobs.
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