President Trump celebrates 'historic' 100 days in office after slashing aid and sweeping deportations

The past 100 days of second term as US President could not have been more different from his first time around. While in 2017 the 78-year-old Republican struggled to fulfil the promises made to his MAGA supporters amid never-ending scandals and factional infighting, this time Trump has achieved much of what he set out to do on the campaign trail.

The speed at which the MAGA machine has gripped the levers of power has shocked observers and even his own supporters. Most of his presidential appointments have sailed through the Senate, and his agenda has taken over the American government with shocking speed - helped, of course, by billionaire DOGE programme, which claims to have slashed billions from federal spending.

President Trump marked the 100-day point in his second term in office with one of the cornerstones of his grip on the US public, a large rally in front of thousands of his supporters.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

Speaking in Warren, Michigan, a state which helped propel him through the electoral college to victory, he told the assembled crowds "I love you," and promised that auto workers' jobs were coming home thanks to the "most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of our country."

He added: "We've just started, you haven't seen anything yet."

An hour before he took to the stage in Michigan, Trump travelled to the nearby Selfridge Air National Guard Base to speak with troops alongside Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. There, he championed his administration's focus on bringing jobs back to the US and promised to give the assembled airmen 21 brand new F-15 fighter jets and save their airbase from closure.

It was not the only stop he pulled out in the hours before his rally, as he also signed a series of executive orders which he claimed would lessen the impact of his sweeping tariffs on the American auto industry, most of which are based in Detroit, Michigan. These car makers were slapped with steep 25 per cent tariffs on cars and parts in March, as part of Trump's efforts to bring manufacturing back to American soil.

READ MORE:

Through his Tuesday executive orders, major car manufacturers will be able to offset the costs incurred from tariffs on foreign imports based on the number of cars they sell and at what price. This measure will be in place for two years while companies change their supply chains to rely less on international trade.

On the stage in Michigan, hailed his first 14 weeks in office as having a "remarkable" impact on the economy and immigration. But he quickly moved to attack his perceived opponents and moved to squash any opposition in his own party, telling voters to kick Republican "grandstanders" out of Congress if they don't get behind his agenda.

"We're taking back our country from a sick political class that got rich selling America out and bleeding America dry," Trump said.

He continued: "After years of leaders who sent your money to defend the borders of other foreign nations, that's what we did, we'd fight for other nations but not ourselves. You finally have a president who is defending our borders and our nation."

Turning to the local crowd, he added: "After decades of politicians who destroyed Detroit to build up Beijing, you finally have a champion for workers in the White House. Instead of putting first, I'm putting Michigan first, and I'm putting America first."

While at the podium, President Trump rolled through his greatest hits catalogue, slamming the Democrats as incompetent, attacking parts of the media that he views as fake news, and reminding his supporters of his predecessors record in office, making sure to call him "Sleepy Joe," and remind them of his failed opponent's role as the border czar - falsely claiming that he reduced illegal immigration numbers to just three people in his first three months.

He went on to champion the huge number of executive orders he has signed over the past few months, the most of any president in the past century, and his sweeping crackdown on illegal migrants and asylum seekers. These have been anything but uncontroversial, with US Immigration officials detaining and deporting people without a trial - including Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who had a right to remain in the country but has since been lost in a mega-prison in El Salvador.

Trump would later slam the judicial branch for impinging on his presidential authority, calling judges "communist" for challenging ICE's sweeping deportations, which have frequently disregarded due process.

To cheers from his assembled supporters, Trump showed a video of people being deported, showing prisoners with their heads shaved and their limbs shackled, as they are taken into the infamous Cecot prison in El Salvador. The country has agreed to take people determined, often without trial, to be criminals in return for money from the US.

Next on the president's hit list was the "fake polls", which came out just days ago and showed that Trump has achieved the lowest approval ratings of any president in 80 years on his first 100 days in office. 55 per cent said they disapproved of his efforts, while just 39 per cent thought he was doing a good job.