(The Hill) – President Trump on Wednesday referred to as in to NewsNation for a city corridor program marking the primary 100-day milestone of his second time period within the Oval Workplace.
Rounding out a media blitz to rejoice the benchmark, Trump disregarded issues about his polling and insurance policies as he talked with moderators Chris Cuomo, Invoice O’Reilly and Stephen A. Smith.
After Trump appeared for a little bit below half an hour, different visitors, together with Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former White Home adviser Steve Bannon, appeared through the two-hour program.
Listed here are 5 takeaways:
Trump brushes off issues about his insurance policies
Trump swatted away issues about among the strikes which have stoked controversy all through his first 100-day stretch.
Requested to call the largest mistake he’s made thus far, Trump stated he did not suppose he’d made any.
“I’ll tell you, that’s the toughest question I can have because I don’t really believe I’ve made mistakes,” he stated, arguing that the nation is in a “transition period” and can see “tremendous economic victories” forward.
And as his dramatic tariff strikes heighten financial anxieties, Trump contended that he is aware of his stuff “perfectly.”
“We have to have fair trade. We’re losing billions and billions of dollars, hundreds of billions of dollars. And it’s not fair, and it’s time for the American people to be properly protected by somebody that knows what he’s doing,” Trump stated.
“And I know what I’m doing perfectly,” he asserted. He added that “it’s a little complicated subject” and “I’ve got to explain it.”
The president has been celebrating his 100-day mark amid sagging approval numbers, however he brushed these off, too, lambasting “fake polls” and touting his November win as an indication of his enduring success.
Trump, Stephen A. Smith share sort phrases for one another
Trump and Smith had been cordial to one another and shared sort phrases at the same time as Smith has been essential of lots of Trump’s insurance policies.
Their first interplay through the occasion got here after Smith started to ask Trump a query and Trump remarked that he remembered Smith from a “very long time ago,” sparking laughter from the viewers members. Smith grew to become identified whereas working in New York sports activities discuss radio as Trump grew to become one of many metropolis’s prime businessmen.
One notable second got here later in Trump’s dialogue with the moderators by which he stated he’d “love” to see Smith run for president.
Smith has obtained consideration as a potential 2028 presidential candidate amid criticism of the Democratic Occasion following former Vice President Harris’s loss within the November election. He’s pointed to potential candidates he hopes will run however has left the door open to getting within the race if he’s dissatisfied with the sector.
Trump stated he doesn’t have any recommendation for Smith however referred to as him a “good” and “smart” man. He added that he loves watching Smith, whom he referred to as entertaining.
“I’ve been pretty good at picking people and picking candidates, and I will tell you, I’d love to see him run,” Trump stated, to applause from some members of the viewers.
At one other level, Smith additionally acknowledged Trump’s efforts to bolster Traditionally Black Faculties and Universities (HBCUs).
Trump declines to say when commerce offers will probably be introduced
Trump declined to say when his commerce strikes will repay and didn’t share particulars on when new commerce offers will probably be introduced.
“When do you think, though, it’s going to turn around economically so that people aren’t frightened? Do you have a timeline on it?” O’Reilly requested the president.
The president acknowledged the “very fair question,” however charged ahead to tout that corporations are constructing crops within the U.S.
He later stated that many nations “are calling us, like, morning, noon and night dying to make a deal” and stated “we’re in a great position of strength.”
When pressed on when he may announce agreements with nations like South Korea, Japan and India, Trump clarified that “well, we have potential deals with them.”
“I’ll tell you this: I’m in less of a hurry than you are. We are sitting on the catbird seat. They want us. We don’t need them,” he stated.
Trump additionally famous through the city corridor that there’s “a very good chance” the U.S. will make a take care of China amid the continuing standoff between the 2 world powers.
“Now, will we make a deal? There’s a very good chance we’re going to make a deal, but we’re going to make it on our terms,” Trump stated, after calling China “the king of ripping off the United States.”
Trump upped tariffs on China to 145 p.c whole earlier this month, regardless of providing a 90-day reprieve to different nations – prompting China to hit again with 125 p.c tariffs.
O’Reilly introduced as much as Trump that if his commerce insurance policies haven’t been confirmed proper by this time subsequent 12 months, it may trigger Democrats to win within the midterm elections.
“It is true, and I just think I’ll be able to convince people how good this is,” Trump responded.
O’Reilly tries to attract solutions from Trump on powerful questions
O’Reilly on a number of events pressed Trump on varied points, making an attempt to get him to reply on points like his tariff coverage and the potential political impacts of his presidency.
O’Reilly, a private good friend of Trump for years, stated earlier than Wednesday’s city corridor that his imaginative and prescient for the occasion was one that may be extra “personal” than different interviews and media appearances throughout his Trump’s first 100 days.
“You’re never going to get him to admit he made a mistake,” O’Reilly predicted of Trump through the city corridor’s pre-show.
O’Reilly additionally debated fellow moderator Smith in addition to visitors like James Carville through the two-hour discussion board that additionally featured questions from a reside studio viewers and viewers who submitted questions through social media.
RFK Jr. defends dealing with of measles outbreak
Kennedy briefly referred to as into the city corridor through the second hour, defending his dealing with of the measles outbreak in Texas amid criticism of his previous statements about vaccines and job efficiency.
Kennedy argued that the nation is “doing better at managing the measles epidemic in the country than probably any other country in the world.” He stated the U.S. has about 842 instances of measles, whereas Canada has roughly the identical quantity with a smaller inhabitants and Europe has “10 times that number.”
“Our numbers have plateaued,” he stated.
The Canadian authorities reported as of mid-April that about 1,000 measles instances have been identified this 12 months, whereas the World Well being Group reported that Europe had its highest variety of measles instances final 12 months in additional than 25 years.
Kennedy has confronted criticism over his previous anti-vaccine advocacy, stirring doubts concerning the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine particularly. Some critics have blamed the arguments Kennedy has superior for growing hesitancy to get vaccines and permitting the illness to unfold to its present outbreak, inflicting the primary deaths from the illness since 2015.
Kennedy stated some teams of individuals within the nation have spiritual objections to vaccines, surfacing false claims concerning the vaccines containing “aborted fetuses,” and the nation ought to have the ability to care for them by way of different methods.
“That’s one of the things that [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] has not done,” he stated. “CDC has said the only thing that we have is vaccination. There’s all kinds of treatments for when people do get sick, and those people should be treated with compassion.”
Dominick Mastrangelo contributed.
