At Day 100, Trump Rips Media Dinner, Heads for Pa.

First president since Reagan to skip WHCA dinner, instead rallies his base
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 30, 2017 5:33 AM CDT
At Day 100, Trump Rips Media Dinner, Heads for Pa.
President Donald Trump speaks at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg, Pa., Saturday, April, 29, 2017.    (Carolyn Kaster)

President Trump on Saturday marked his 100th day in office by claiming historic action on his agenda, reports the AP, renewing promises on health care and taxes and attacking the news media that he says is misleading Americans in a rally in Harrisburg at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center. Declaring his "only allegiance is to you, our wonderful citizens," Trump signed executive orders toughening the nation's posture on trade deals. "We are not going to let other countries take advantage of us anymore," he said. "From now on, it's going to be America first." But even as he appealed to Pennsylvania voters who helped elect him in a surprise win over Hillary Clinton, Trump seemed caught between his role as an outsider candidate and a now-elected negotiator still figuring out how to deal with the very insiders he vowed to drain from Washington's "swamp."

Trump opened the rally with an extended attack on the media, pointing out that he was choosing to stay away from the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, which he called "a large group of Hollywood actors and Washington media ... consoling each other in a hotel ballroom," per CNN. "I could not possibly be more thrilled than to be more than 100 miles way from Washington's swamp," he said, "spending my evening with all of you and with a much, much larger crowd and much better people, right?" He then suggested that he might attend the dinner next year—but said he'd also consider returning to Pennsylvania. The economy, so far, has been Trump's ally. Polls show that Americans feel slightly better about his job performance on that subject than his job performance overall. "In just 14 weeks, my administration has brought profound change to Washington," Trump said in his weekly radio and internet address. (More President Trump stories.)

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