- Trump hosts a campaign-style rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- Trump promises a "big decision" on the Paris Accord soon
begin quote from:
Trump delivers divisive, determined speech at campaign-style event
Trump: We all bleed the same red blood
Trump rallies his base on his 100th day
Story highlights
Washington (CNN)President
Donald Trump hit hard at the news media at a rally Saturday in
Pennsylvania to tout the accomplishments of his first 100 days, striking
a tone both divisive and determined as he played to the populist
sentiments of a cheering crowd.
"It's
time for all of us to remember that we are one people with one great
American destiny, and that whether we are black or brown or white, we
all bleed the same red blood of patriots, and we all share the same
glorious freedoms of our magnificent country," Trump said, evoking the
populist rhetoric of his inauguration speech after spending a large part
of his Saturday remarks decrying the alleged shortcomings of the
mainstream media.
Among the crowd
favorites at Trump rallies are the President's attacks on the press, and
this was true again on Saturday, when many in the media were attending
the annual White House correspondents' dinner
in what Trump routinely calls the "swamp" of Washington -- setting up a
prime-time duel with what has become his No. 1 foe, the media.
"A
large group of Hollywood actors and Washington media are consoling each
other in a hotel ballroom in our nation's capital right now," Trump
told the crowd. "They are gathered together for the White House
Correspondents' dinner -- without the President. And I could not
possibly be more thrilled than to be more than 100 miles away from
Washington's swamp, spending my evening with all of you and with a much,
much larger crowd and much better people."
Trump
held that divisive tone throughout the speech, prompting former
presidential adviser and senior CNN political analyst David Gergen to
call the remarks "deeply disturbing" in a special prime-time edition of
"CNN Newsroom" with John Berman and Poppy Harlow.
"This
was the most divisive speech I have ever heard from a sitting American
president," Gergen said. "Others may disagree about that. He played to
his base and he treated his other listeners, the rest of the people who
have been disturbed about him or opposed him, he treated them basically
as, 'I don't give a damn what you think because you're frankly like the
enemy.' I thought it was a deeply disturbing speech."
Reagan adviser: Trump speech deeply disturbing 00:59
Trump,
who found his stride during the campaign in front of large, cheering
crowds across the country in states where his populist message
resonates, took the stage Saturday night alongside Vice President Mike
Pence.
"There is no place I'd
rather be than right here in Pennsylvania to celebrate our 100-day
milestone, to reflect on an incredible journey together," Trump said.
As
expected, the President also addressed some of the biggest issues he
has tried to tackle during his first 100 days in office. The threat from
North Korea, getting a health care bill passed and possibly
renegotiating the Paris climate accord were among the big talking points
of the nearly one-hour speech.
"I'll
be making a big decision on the Paris accord over the next two weeks,
and we will see what happens," Trump said on the same day that
protesters backing action on climate change took to the streets in
Washington and other cities across the country as part of the "People's
Climate March."
While Trump's
raucous rally was straight out of his campaign playbook, he also did
something he rarely does -- call out US congressmen from Pennsylvania
who were in attendance by name.
"We're
going to give Americans the freedom to purchase the health care plans
they want, not the health care forced on them by the government," Trump
said. "And I'll be so angry at Congressman (Mike) Kelly and Congressman
(Tom) Marino and all of our congressmen in this room if we don't get
that damn thing passed quickly."
In
addition to speaking at the rally, Trump signed two executive orders in
Harrisburg, one directing a review all US trade agreements and the
second establishing the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy.
This marks the first time in 36 years that a sitting president has not attended and spoken at
the White House correspondents' dinner. President Ronald Reagan missed
the dinner while recovering in the hospital from an assassination
attempt, but he still made remarks by phone. Richard Nixon was the last
president to skip the dinner completely.
The last time
Trump attended the dinner was in 2011, when he was a New York real
estate mogul and reality TV star who had just jumped into politics by
getting involved in the "birther" movement, calling for President Barack
Obama to release his birth certificate. Trump ended up being the butt of the jokes that night from comedian Seth Meyers and Obama himself.
But
no matter where he was, the spotlight was on Trump on Saturday since
the day also marked a significant milestone in the career of a
president. After serving as commander in chief for 100 days, his
achievements, as well as shortfalls, were being closely scrutinized.
On
paper, Trump lacks a major legislative achievement, has the lowest
approval ratings of any new commander in chief since World War II, has
seen several key immigration goals held up by the courts and has failed
to deliver the health care overhaul he promised again and again on the
campaign trail.
Trump's sole big
win has been the successful nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme
Court -- something a president hasn't done in his first 100 days since
James Garfield appointed a justice within that time frame 136 years ago.
Trump,
a longtime critic of the number of Obama's executive orders, issued
more executive orders in his first 100 days than any other president
aside from Harry Truman.
Trump's
first 100 days have also been plagued with controversy, from appointing
his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner to key White House
posts to dealing with allegations of possible ties between some of his
campaign aides and Russia.
His
campaign promises on such major items as repealing and replacing
Obamacare and overhauling the tax code -- things he rallied crowds with
for months all over the country -- have yet to be enacted. 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.
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