WARREN, Mich. (AP) 鈥� President is holding on Tuesday to mark of his second term, staging his largest political event since returning to the White House in a state that has been especially rocked by his and .
Trump is making an afternoon visit to Selfridge Air National Guard Base for an announcement alongside Democratic Michigan Gov. . He's expected to speak at a rally at Macomb Community College, north of Detroit, allowing him to revel in to upend government and social, political and foreign policy norms.
His Republican administration's have sent arrests for illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border , and led by billionaire adviser have shaken Washington to its core. Its protectionist import taxes imposed on America's trade partners have also sought to reorder a global economy that the U.S. had painstakingly in the decades after World War II.
Trump has also championed sweeping U.S. expansionism, refusing to rule out military intervention in and , suggesting that American developers could help the into a Riviera-like resort and even suggesting annexation of Canada.
鈥淚 run the country and the world,鈥� Trump told in an interview. He told Time of his first 100 days, 鈥淚 think that what I鈥檓 doing is exactly what I鈥檝e campaigned on.鈥�
That doesn't mean it's popular.
Only about 4 in 10 Americans approve of how Trump , and his ratings on the economy and trade are lower than that. Additionally, 46% of U.S. adults approve of Trump's , with about half of Americans saying he has 鈥済one too far鈥� when it comes to deporting immigrants living in the country illegally.
Just 33% of Americans, meanwhile, have a favorable view of Musk, the Tesla CEO and world's richest person, and about half believe the administration has gone too far in working to .
鈥淭he bottom line for the first hundred days is, lots of damage being done to the fundamentals of our government,鈥� said Max Stier, founding president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit dedicated to better government.
Stier noted that there鈥檇 been 鈥渁 lot of interest in this idea of trying to make our government more efficient, and what we鈥檝e seen instead is the most substantial destruction of our core governmental capabilities in history.鈥�
Michigan was one of the from the Democratic column. But it鈥檚 also been deeply affected by his tariffs, including on new imported cars and auto parts.
Michigan's unemployment rate has risen for three straight months, including jumping 1.3% from March to reach 5.5%, according to . That鈥檚 among the highest in the nation, far exceeding the national average of 4.2%.
Automaker Stellantis at plants in Canada and Mexico after Trump announced a 25% tariff on imported vehicles, temporarily laying off 900 U.S. employees. Industry groups have separately urged the White House to scrap plans for tariffs on imported auto parts, warning that doing so would raise prices on cars and could trigger 鈥渓ayoffs and bankruptcy.鈥�
That seemingly would make the state an odd choice for Trump to hail his own accomplishments.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure that he is at all interested in doing the smart thing," said Bernie Porn, a longtime Michigan pollster. 鈥淗e is what I would call an in-your-face president. 'This is what I鈥檓 going to do.'"
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday morning that Trump would sign an executive order relaxing some of , though Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the goal remained enabling automakers to create more domestic manufacturing jobs.
Bessent added that Trump is concerned with 鈥渏obs of the future, not of the past.鈥�
The president is also visiting Selfridge, which was established after the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, and the community college campus in Warren. Both are near the Canadian border and home to many people with deep business and personal ties to that country.
鈥淢ichigan always feels very, very positively toward Canada,鈥� said the pollster, who noted that its voters 鈥渃an鈥檛 be reacting well to the kinds of things he鈥檚 done."
Typically, presidents use the 100-day mark to launch multiple rallies. But Trump is doing only the Michigan stop before giving the commencement address at the University of Alabama on Thursday.
Administration officials say the Republican president is at his most effective staying at the White House, having meetings and speaking to reporters nearly every day. Indeed, Trump鈥檚 Macomb Community College speech will be one of the few large in-person crowds he's addressed since Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.
Except for to tour hurricane damage in North Carolina and wildfire devastation in Southern California and that included briefly chatting with gamblers on a casino floor, Trump鈥檚 early months have been characterized by little domestic travel.
The exceptions have been flying most weekends to golf in Florida or attend sporting events, including the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500, where Trump relished the crowds but didn't speak to them. The limited travel to see supporters is a major departure from his first term, when Trump held major rallies in Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky before celebrating with a Pennsylvania speech in 2017.
Also in the spotlight will be Whitmer, who is frequently mentioned as a future presidential candidate. Long a Trump critic, Whitmer has sought to with the president lately, visiting him at the White House and discussing the future of Selfridge specifically.
Whitmer is concerned about the A-10 aircraft stationed at the base being phased out, though Trump recently said he hoped to keep Selfridge 鈥渙pen, strong, thriving.鈥�
Porn, the Michigan pollster, noted that Whitmer has continued to criticize Trump on key issues like the environment. But, he added, 鈥淪he does, I think, more so than a lot of other Democrats, realize that the guy's in office, and it probably makes sense to try and 鈥� to the extent possible on those things where they agree 鈥� work together with him."
Michigan will be important for Republicans in 2026 as their party tries to pick up a Senate seat in the state for the first time in decades and regain control of the governor's office, with Whitmer term-limited. Multiple competitive House races will also be on the midterm ballot, along with control of the state legislature.
Will Weissert And Joey Cappelletti, The Associated Press
