Trump touts 100-day achievements in Michigan amid concerns about economy
Speaking briefly at a National Guard base, Trump touted his administration's investments in defense and praised the foreign policy record of his first administration, from 2017 to 2021.
He said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was doing a "great job," without mentioning recent disclosures that he discussed highly sensitive military information with several personal acquaintances.
And, in a relatively rare moment of bipartisanship, the president lavished praise on Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat. He said she had played a key role in "saving" the Selfridge Air National Guard Base northeast of Detroit, where local media reported concerns about the base's future last year.
"I'll be supporting a record-setting $1 trillion investment in our national defense," said Trump, speaking before dozens of troops, as well as Whitmer and Hegseth.
During the speech, he said the base in Selfridge would be receiving 21 Boeing F-15X jets. Whitmer said in a statement the move secured the base's mission and was a "huge, bipartisan win for Michigan" that will protect jobs.
On Air Force One earlier on Tuesday, Trump signed an order to soften the blow of his auto tariffs with a mix of credits and relief from other levies. Meanwhile, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC he had reached one deal with a foreign power, which he declined to name, that should permanently ease the "reciprocal" tariffs Trump plans to impose.
Trump later spoke at an evening rally in Warren, near Detroit. That event, his biggest since assuming office on January 20, was an opportunity for him to tout what his administration sees as his core achievements in the opening months of his second non-consecutive term.
The event will likely also be an opportunity for the president to reassure voters in the politically competitive automaking state that he is a good economic steward.
A three-day Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Sunday showed that 42% of respondents approved of Trump's performance so far, while 53% disapproved. That is down from 47% approval in the Reuters/Ipsos poll in January.
The share of respondents who approved of Trump's economic stewardship was only 36% in the latest survey, the lowest level in his current term or in his 2017-2021 presidency.
Fears of a recession have surged in recent weeks as Trump has launched a global trade war, hiking tariffs so high that economists warn that trade with some countries - notably China - could grind nearly to a halt. The moves have shaken investors and companies.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
18 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump's new AI chatbot keeps fact-checking him
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Donald Tump's new AI-powered search engine has been contradicting the US president on some of his core policies since launching last week. The Truth Search AI feature, which is integrated into the web browser of Mr Trump's social media platform Truth Social, is designed to deliver 'direct, reliable answers', according to its creators. The chatbot's responses typically draw from right wing and pro-Trump news sources like Fox News and Newsmax, however it did not support recent statements made by Trump. On Friday, Mr Trump said that his tariff policy has had a 'huge positive impact' on the stock market, but the AI tool responded saying 'the evidence does not support this claim'. First reported by The Washington Post , Truth Search AI also called the US president's claim that the 2020 election was stolen as 'baseless'. When asked about a recent post by Mr Trump on Truth Social about crime in Washington, D.C., the AI bot responded that it is 'not totally out of control'. Users on social media also shared instances of the new AI bot claiming that Barack Obama is the most popular president of the century, and that the Trump family's crypto projects pose a conflict of interest. Trump Media said in a press release unveiling the new feature that its mission was to 'end Big Tech's assault on free speech by opening up the internet and giving people their voice's back'. The AI feature is developed by the controversial artificial intelligence company Perplexity, which recently faced criticism after security firm Cloudflare alleged that it was secretly scrape websites without their permission. Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said the company was acting 'like North Korean hackers', however Perplexity dismissed the claims. Trump Media did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent .
The Independent
18 minutes ago
- The Independent
Saved from militants, Timbuktu's famed manuscripts return home after 13 years in Mali's capital
Your support helps us to tell the story Read more Support Now From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more The Malian military government on Monday started returning home the historic manuscripts of Timbuktu, which were spirited out of their fabled northern city when it was occupied by al-Qaida-linked militants more than a decade ago. Islamic radicals destroyed more than 4,000 manuscripts, some dating back to the 13th century, after they seized Timbuktu in 2012, according to the findings of a United Nations expert mission. They also destroyed nine mausoleums and a mosque's door — all but one of the buildings on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The majority of the documents dating back to the 13th century — more than 27,000 — were saved by the devotion of the Timbuktu library's Malian custodians, who carried them out of the occupied city in rice sacks, on donkey carts, by motorcycle, by boat and four-wheel drive vehicles. The first batch of the manuscripts were brought to Timbuktu by plane from the capital of Bamako, authorities said, adding that the return was necessary to protect them from the threats of Bamako's humidity. The shipment consisted of more than 200 crates and weighed some 5.5 tons. The rest would be shipped in the coming days, officials said. About 706 kilometers (439 miles) from Bamako, Timbuktu sits on the edge of the Sahara desert and has a dry climate. For years, the local municipal and religious authorities have asked for the return of the manuscripts. Diahara Touré, Timbuktu's deputy mayor, said the famous documents are important to the local people as they "reflect our civilization and spiritual and intellectual heritage.' 'This is the first stage" of the return, said Bilal Mahamane Traoré, a local official. In February, the military government made a commitment to return the manuscripts, according to Bouréma Kansaye, the Malian Minister of Higher Education. He described them as as a 'legacy that bears witness to the intellectual greatness and crossroads of civilization' of the city of Timbuktu — 'a bridge between the past and the future.' 'We now have a responsibility to protect, digitize, study, and promote these treasures so that they continue to enlighten Mali, Africa, and the world,' Kansaye said during Monday's return ceremony. The manuscripts, which UNESCO has designated as part of the World Cultural Heritage, cover a myriad subjects, from Islamic theology and jurisprudence, astronomy, medicine, mathematics, history, and geography. They are a testimony to the rich cultural heritage of the Mali and Songhai empires in West Africa. Mali, along with neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, has long battled an insurgency by armed militants, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Following two military coups, the ruling junta expelled French troops and instead turned to Russia for security assistance. Still, 13 years after the occupation of Timbuktu, the security situation in Mali remains precarious and analysts say it has worsened in recent months. Although the city is back under government control, militants continue attacking its surroundings, including as recently as last month. ___ AP's Africa coverage at:
BBC News
18 minutes ago
- BBC News
Trump deploys National Guard to Washington DC and pledges crime crackdown
President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard to Washington DC and taken control of the city's police force as he pledges to crack down on crime and homelessness in the nation's declared a "public safety emergency" on Monday, deploying 800 National Guard troops who will bolster hundreds of federal law enforcement officers who were deployed over the weekend."It's becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness," he told reporters at the White House. The city's Mayor Muriel Bowser has rejected the president's claims about crime and while there was a spike in 2023, statistics show it has fallen since then. Violent crime in the city is also at a 30-year low. "I'm announcing a historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse," Trump said during a news conference in which he was flanked by US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who will lead the city's police force while it is under federal control."This is liberation day in DC, and we're going to take our capital back," he said Washington DC had been "taken over by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals" as well as "drugged out maniacs and homeless people".According to data from the city's Metropolitan Police Department, homicides dropped by 32 percent between 2023 and 2024 and reached their lowest level since has been another substantial drop this year of 12 percent, the data Bowser, a Democrat, acknowledged there had been a "terrible" spike in crime in 2023, which mirrored a national trend, but she pushed back against any claims of a crimewave in the city."We are not experiencing a crime spike," she told MSNBC on Sunday. "The president is very aware of our efforts."When asked about White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller's comment that Washington is more violent than Baghdad, Bowser said "any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false". Of the 800 National Guard troops who will be activated, between 100-200 will be deployed and supporting law enforcement at any given time, the army said in a well as that deployment, Trump said he would place the city's police department under direct federal control using the District of Columbia Home Rule act was instituted by former President Richard Nixon to allow residents of Washington DC - which is the only US city that is not in any of the 50 states - to elect a city council and a mayor. But it also has a caveat that allows the president to take control of the city's police force if "special conditions of an emergency nature exist". If the president intends to take control for longer than 48 hours, they need to provide a written notice to Congress. And even if that notice is provided, they cannot keep control of the police for longer than 30 Sunday, when asked about the possibility of the president taking control of the city's police department, Mayor Bowser said: "There are very specific things in our law that would allow [that]. None of those conditions exist in our city right now."She said she was "concerned" about the National Guard enforcing local mayor's office has not yet responded to a request for comment from the BBC on Trump's Monday announcement. As well as crime, Trump also spoke at length about homelessness in Washington DC."We're getting rid of the slums," he said, without giving further details. He said homeless people would be sent elsewhere but did not say added that "everything should be perfect" when dignitaries and foreign leaders visit the city."It's a very strong reflection of our country," he said. "If our capital is dirty, our whole country is dirty and they don't respect us."Local groups working with homeless people in the capital told the BBC they had actually seen progress in recent is down almost 20% for individuals in Washington DC in 2025 compared to five years ago, said Ralph Boyd, the president and chief executive of So Others Might Eat (SOME) - a group that provides people in the city with housing, clothing and other social also said Trump's proposal to move people out of the city was not a long-term solution. "All it will do is transfer the problem somewhere else into communities that are perhaps less equipped to deal with it than we are," Boyd outside the White House, protesters concerned about Trump's actions gathered and chanted "hands off DC" and "protect home rule". "Trump does not care about DC's safety, he cares about control," a speaker at the event president's actions follow a series of social media posts in recent days in which he has criticised the running of Washington DC. Trump has long complained about the city's Democratic leadership for their handling of crime and homelessness. He has also responded angrily to a former employee of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) who was attacked recently in in the Monday's press conference, Trump said the employee was "savagely beaten by a band of roaming thugs" and was "left dripping in blood". He also mentioned other federal government employees and elected officials who have been attacked, including a Democratic lawmaker and an intern."This is a threat to America," Trump first time Trump deployed the National Guard was in June, when he ordered 2,000 National Guardsmen to Los Angeles to deal with unrest over raids on undocumented last time the National Guard was deployed to Washington DC was in response to the Capitol riot in 2021.
