Donald Trump marks 100 days with attack on 'fake news' media and Washington 'swamp' at rally

Donald Trump has marked his 100th day in office by claiming historic action on his agenda, renewing promises on healthcare and taxes, while attacking the media for allegedly misleading Americans.

To supporters at an evening rally in Pennsylvania, he promoted American power and patriotism while emphasising such priorities as American manufacturing, better trade deals for the US and a still-to-be defined tax cut plan.

Mr Trump's 100th day events were set in a politically important state that he won with 48 per cent of the vote. It was the first time Pennsylvania had voted for a Republican presidential candidate since George HW Bush in 1988.

The President visited the AMES Companies in Pennsylvania's Cumberland County, a shovel manufacturer since 1774.

With that backdrop he signed an executive order directing the Commerce Department and the US trade representative to conduct a study of trade agreements. The goal is to determine whether America is being treated fairly by its trading partners and the 164-nation World Trade Organisation.

Mr Trump's rally on Saturday night in Harrisburg offered a familiar recapitulation of what he and aides have argued for days are administration successes, including the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, his cabinet choices and the approval of construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

But the President began the rally on a sour note, pointing out that he was not attending that night's White House Correspondents' Association dinner and issuing a scathing attack on the media. To cheers, he accused broadcasters and newspapers of running “fake news” and said if their job was to be honest and tell the truth, then they deserved “a big, fat failing grade.”

“I could not possibly be more thrilled than to be more than 100 miles way from Washington's swamp, spending my evening with all of you and with a much, much larger crowd and much better people, right?” he said.

Meanwhile, North Korea's missile launch signalled its continued defiance against the US, China and other nations, on which Mr Trump tweeted: “Bad!”

Asked during an interview for CBS' “Face the Nation” if military action would follow a nuclear test by the North, he responded: “I don't know. I mean, we'll see.”

At the 100-day mark, polls show that Mr Trump's supporters during the campaign remain largely in his corner. Though the White House created a website touting its accomplishments of the first 100 days, Mr Trump has tried to downplay the importance of the marker, perhaps out of recognition that many of his campaign promises have gone unfulfilled.

“It's a false standard, 100 days,” he said while signing an executive order on Friday. "But I have to tell you, I don't think anybody has done what we've been able to do in 100 days, so we're very happy.”

A failed effort to overhaul President Barack Obama's health care law behind him, Mr Trump is turning to what he's billed as the nation's biggest tax cut. It apparently falls short of Reagan's in 1981, and tax experts are sceptical that the plan would pay for itself, as Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has claimed.

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.

“Together we are seeing that great achievements are possible when we put American people first,” Mr Trump said in his weekly radio and internet address. “That is why I withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. That day was a turning point for our nation. It put the countries of this world on notice that the sellout of the American worker was over.”

He said in his remarks: “In just 14 weeks, my administration has brought profound change to Washington.”

Executive orders in line to be signed Saturday would be the 31st and 32nd since Mr Trump took office - the most of any President in his first 100 days since World War II. During the campaign, Mr Trump railed against his predecessor's use of orders, which do not need congressional approval.

Associated Press