Blue state governor makes another appearance with Trump before his 100-day speech: ‘Happy we’re here’
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., greeted President Donald Trump on the tarmac in Michigan before his speech to National Guard members on Tuesday, where she also spoke at the event without hiding her face. “Well, I hadn’t planned to speak, but on behalf of all the military men and women who serve our country and serve so honorably on behalf of the State of Michigan, I am really damn happy we’re here,” Whitmer said. Fox News co-host Judge Jeanine Pirro said on “The Five” Tuesday that Whitmer had a chance to set the tone for the Democratic Party. “I think that…of course, she’s there because of the troops, but there are some Democrats who wouldn’t be in the same room with Donald Trump,” Pirro said. “I think that she did the right thing, and I think that wanting to work with the president to bring back manufacturing to Michigan is a smart move.” WHITMER DITCHES DEM PLAYBOOK ON TRUMP’S TARIFFS AMID 2028 SPECULATION During the event on Tuesday, Trump unveiled plans to swap out the retiring A-10 Warthog aircraft based out of Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan with 21 brand-new F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets. Trump shared the details during a speech to National Guard members at the Michigan base before an event commemorating his 100th day in office. “So I want to thank Governor Gretchen Whitmer for bringing it also to our attention very strongly. And, you know, I’m not supposed to do that. She’s a Democrat. They say, ‘Don’t do that. Don’t have her here.’ I said, ‘No, she’s going to be here,’” Trump said. “She’s done a very good job, frankly. And she’s she was very much involved with, with the Republicans. They worked together on saving it. And it was not easy. So I want to thank you very much, Gretchen. Good job.” DEM GOVERNORS REVOLT AGAINST TRUMP’S ‘LIBERATION DAY’ TARIFFS Whitmer’s presence Tuesday came a few weeks after seemingly hiding her face during a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office. Whitmer was criticized for shielding her face with a folder as a photo of the moment became a meme on social media. She poked fun at the now-viral moment by once again holding folders up in front of her face when asked about her trip to Washington, D.C., during an event at the Detroit Economic Club after the meeting with the president. “… I don’t want my picture taken, that’s all it was. I kind of wished I hadn’t put my folder up in front of my face, but whatever. You know I was there … I just wrote a book about learning to laugh at yourself, so I’m pretty good at it. We all have our moments,” Whitmer said. GRETCHEN WHITMER RIBBED ONLINE FOR SEEMING TO HIDE FACE IN OVAL OFFICE The governor’s trip to Washington brought her 2028 presidential ambitions into the national conversation as she struck a diplomatic tone with Trump. She carefully criticized Trump’s tariffs while saying she understood the “motivation behind the tariffs” and even agreeing with Trump that we “need to make more stuff in America.” Whitmer’s Oval Office moment marked her second meeting with Trump in less than a month, and Tuesday’s meeting now marks the third. As Trump signed executive orders from the Oval Office on April 9 and answered questions from the press, he said Whitmer had “done an excellent job” as governor and called her a “very good person,” a break from his typical lines of attack on her character. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP When Trump signed the executive orders calling for the investigation of two first-term administration aides who were critical of his actions, Whitmer’s office said she was brought into the room “without any notice” and that her appearance was “not an endorsement of the actions taken or statements made.” But Trump called the issues “bipartisan” and jokingly added, “We’ll all stand there together and cut a ribbon. OK, Gretchen?” Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy and Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.
Schumer kicks off Democrat all-nighter marathon railing against Trump’s 100 days: He’s ‘being a mob boss’
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., saved little deference for his fellow New York native when he kicked off what he previously advertised as an all-nighter on the Senate floor by Democrats planning to rail against President Donald Trump for actions over his first 100 days. Speaking just before the endeavor was interrupted by two scheduled votes including the final ambassadorship confirmation of the day, Schumer said it has been 100 days of “corruption [and] cronyism” that are “forcing much higher costs on the American people – it really is awful.” “[T]his is a threat to our democratic republic. He’s acting like a king, a mob boss, a wannabe dictator,” Schumer fumed. “He said he wanted to be a dictator on day one. It looks like he’s extending it – Any quarter of opposition that might just say something in our tradition of free speech and debate, he tries to crush: crush the law firms, crush the universities, go after the judges, which have been the foundation of our republic; that judges are independent and are were able to stop an executive that’s going too far.” DEM SENATORS RIP GOP’S ‘SILENCE OF THE LAMBS’ AS TRUMP MARKS 100TH DAY “Let us commit ourselves, all of us Democrats here in the Senate, against this administration, and to uphold the core values and principles of this beautiful nation which we must fight to preserve and protect.” Earlier in the day, Schumer had been challenged by CNN’s Manu Raju on his sinking poll numbers within his party. Schumer dismissed the charge: “Polls come and go: our party is united.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., also took shots at the president, saying his administration has been “cruel… and dumb.” DAVID PERDUE CONFIRMED AS TRUMP’S TOP CHINA DIPLOMAT AFTER KEY SENATE VOTE “The turmoil and turbulence has produced confusion – and yes, anxiety, deep fear and apprehension about the future of this country,” he said. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., began her remarks Tuesday by lamenting what she called the “unimaginable amount of havoc and harm President Donald Trump has caused for Wisconsinites.” “While on the campaign trail and even once in office, the president made a staggering number of promises — promises to end wars on day one, promises to lower costs at the grocery store on day one – promises to make health care more affordable, and the list goes on and on and on.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital when asked about the remarks, “In his first 100 days, President Trump has delivered on hundreds of promises and already accomplished his two most important campaign goals — the border is secure and inflation is ending.” “The next 100 days will consist of trade deals, peace deals, and tax cuts. More American greatness is on the way,” Leavitt said. Interrupted again by a procedural vote on an energy-standards bill from Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, the all-nighter, is expected to continue thereafter.
Trump wagers US economy in high-stakes tariff gamble at 100-day mark
President Donald Trump campaigned for a second term on pledges to lower prices, create jobs and impose tough tariffs on imports, especially from China. Dubbing himself the “Tariff Man” last fall, he told an audience at the Economic Club of Chicago, “To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff.” However, in his first months in office, it is unclear whether Trump can, or should, implement the harsh reciprocal tariffs he announced in April against dozens of countries. Now, 100 days into his second term, economists told Fox News Digital they see these proposed reciprocal tariffs as politically motivated, unnecessary and failing to secure the benefits from U.S. trading partners that Trump had been hoping for. CHINA IS ‘CAVING’ TO TRUMP’S TRADE WAR STRATEGY, EXPERT SIGNALS Instead, they warned, Trump’s tariffs could grind billions of dollars in trade to a halt between the world’s two largest economies, disrupt global supply chains and risk torpedoing the U.S. economy into a major slump or recession. When Trump took office, chances of recession “were probably about 10%,” Justin Wolfers, an economist at the University of Michigan, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Now, they’re up to around 55%.” It is unclear whether Trump will continue to push through with these unpopular tariffs, which are slated to take force in early July. In the near-term, uncertainty and volatility remain. Trump announced tariffs on April 2, dubbed “Liberation Day.” The announcement included both a 10% universal baseline tariff and plans to enact larger tariffs on dozens of other countries, including China. These new import taxes immediately sent stock markets into free-fall, triggering one of the largest single-day S&P 500 losses since World War II, and prompting deep and unyielding uncertainty over possible next moves. “The only thing that’s happened that has pushed the odds of a recession up so high, so fast, is chaos coming from out of the White House,” Wolfers said. Trump subsequently paused the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days to encourage the administration to make “deals” with countries on trade and encourage more investment in U.S. manufacturing. Even so, some prices have already risen in anticipation of higher costs under the new tariff regime. Uncertainty has also played a role. Trump’s tariff announcement in April prompted a number of large container ships to abruptly halt their shipments to the U.S. earlier this month and turn back to their original ports. This means that more consumers will see a price hike for everyday products, likely at certain big-box retailer stores like Walmart or Target, as early as next month. These price hikes are “not showing up tomorrow, but will show up over the next few months, as scarcities develop and American retailers have to find other sources – that might take a while,” David H. Feldman, an economist and professor at William & Mary College, said in an interview. TRUMP’S ULTIMATUM TO FEDERAL WORKERS: RETURN TO OFFICE ‘OR BE TERMINATED’ While Trump says tariffs will target foreign competitors and reduce the trade deficit, the costs will fall mostly on working- and middle-class Americans who buy the bulk of imported goods. Wolfers said Trump’s focus on the trade “deficit” is based on a common misconception. “What that means is we sell China a small amount of stuff, and they sell us a large amount of stuff,” he explained. However, for every dollar bill that goes to China, the U.S. gets something for it that Americans want to buy, like T-shirts. “We have a dollar deficit – but we have a stuff surplus.” There are few signs that Trump’s tariffs will deliver the gains he sought, such as onshoring U.S. production or securing better trade deals, particularly with Asian countries. Instead, experts warn these countries are likely to circumvent U.S. markets and supply chains over time. “If these tariffs stay in place, there will be hardly any trade between the U.S. and China,” by the second half of the year, Gary Clyde Hufbauer, a senior non-resident fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said in an interview. Roughly $650 billion in annual trade between the two countries is at risk, along with knock-down effects on global commerce in the long term. WORLD LEADERS REACT AS TRUMP RE-ENTERS THE WHITE HOUSE Trump’s tariffs also discard decades of international understanding that has depoliticized trade disputes, Feldman said. The U.S. is “moving from a system that at least was based on mutually acceptable rules of behavior to a system that does not have that as its anchor,” Feldman, whose research focuses on global trade policy, told Fox News Digital. That shift allows the government to target foreign nations individually and offer selective tariff relief to firms and industries “if they do ‘our’ bidding,” he argued. “America is now master of the shakedown.” After market backlash, Trump appears to be warming to the idea of easing his proposed 145% reciprocal tariffs on China, which has vowed to impose its own retaliatory measures on U.S. goods. Economists say he is more likely to do so if the economy sours, or he sees a major drop in poll numbers, if the past is precedent. Still, any path to deescalation remains uncertain. Just last week, China denied Trump’s claim that the two countries were negotiating a tariff deal, after he asserted in an interview that he had reached “200 deals” on trade. Economists believe Trump will at least partially scale back the tariffs before July but warn he is playing a high-stakes game of brinkmanship that could hit U.S. consumers and businesses hardest. “What I worry about is that the immediate impact of uncertainty is on business investment in trade-exposed industries, leading to a recession,” Feldman said. “But it could get worse, if it transmits into a financial panic. And if everyone starts to say, ‘geez, I got to get into gold and cash, I can’t be in Treasury bills.’ If we move into a flight to cash, all bets are off.” Should that happen, he said,
DOGE terminates billions in contracts, including $361K for ‘gender non-conforming, non-binary’ BIPOC farmers
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) terminad $2.5 billion in “wasteful” grants that went toward gender-based causes, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said Tuesday. The USDA got rid of 420 grants for a savings of $2.3 billion, according to DOGE. Among the programs the money was used for, $361,000 went toward “gender non-conforming, non-binary, two-spirit” BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) farmers in New York. HOW A DOGE REVIEW CAN ACTUALLY IMPROVE THE PROGRAMS THAT FIGHT HIV/AIDS Another $150,000 was used for “gender-lensed curricula designed to be transdisciplinary in the food, agriculture, natural resources and human sciences.” Even Ghana benefited, with $100,000 earmarked for “climate resilience and sustainable agriculture” in the African nation. DOGE SLASHES ‘WASTEFUL’ ‘PROBLEM-SOLVING’ CONTRACT WORTH $50K IN LATEST ROUND OF ELIMINATIONS In addition, federal agencies eliminated 179 contracts with a ceiling value of $1.87 billion and savings of $280 million. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The federal government spent $207,000 on a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services consulting contract for a “grant writing workshop” and an $89,000 Treasury Department contract for a “country program manager in Namibia.” Another $1.8 million Trade & Development contract was spent on “energy and climate advisory services.”
DOGE, Treasury discover $334M in improper payment requests due to foul codes
The U.S. Treasury Department and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) discovered that hundreds of millions of dollars in improper payment requests were identified after going live with its first automated payment system last week. In fact, the system found $334 million in improper payment requests that were flagged because of missing budget codes, invalid budget codes and budget codes without authorization. DOGE, which is led by billionaire Elon Musk, announced the discovery in a post on X. In the post, DOGE said an example of an invalid budget code was if the payment was not linked to the budget. It also provided an example of a budget code without authorization, saying the budget had already been fully spent. DOGE SAYS IT FOUND NEARLY UNTRACEABLE BUDGET LINE ITEM RESPONSIBLE FOR $4.7T IN PAYMENTS The news comes months after DOGE learned about an identification code linking U.S. Treasury payments to a budget line item that accounted for nearly $4.7 trillion in payments, which was oftentimes left blank. “The Treasury Access Symbol (TAS) is an identification code linking a Treasury payment to a budget line item (standard financial process),” DOGE wrote in a post on X in February. “In the Federal Government, the TAS field was optional for ~$4.7 Trillion in payments and was often left blank, making traceability almost impossible. As of Saturday, this is now a required field, increasing insight into where money is actually going.” DOGE SLASHES ‘WASTEFUL’ ‘PROBLEM-SOLVING’ CONTRACT WORTH $50K IN LATEST ROUND OF ELIMINATIONS DOGE thanked the U.S. Treasury for its work in identifying the optional field. According to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which is under the Treasury, TAS codes are used to describe any one of the account identification codes assigned by the Treasury and are also referred to as the “account.” All financial transactions made by the federal government are classified by TAS when reporting to the Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget. FOX NEWS POLL: THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SECOND TERM DOGE’s announcement on Tuesday comes as it continues to find savings and fraud across all aspects of the government. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP On the department’s site, it says $160 billion in savings have been discovered, equating to $993.70 in savings per taxpayer. DOGE has been aggressive in its mission to root out wasteful spending and to downsize the scope of the federal government.
Trump roasted Dem critics, media with new nicknames in first 100 days online: ‘Watermelon-Head’
President Donald Trump has been unafraid to publicly blast Democrats and the liberal media during his first 100 days in office, continuing a similar trend from his first term. In one high-profile skirmish, Trump publicly berated Maine’s Democrat. Gov. Janet Mills for defying his executive order barring biological males who identify as transgender from competing in women’s sports. “Your population doesn’t want men playing in women’s sports, so you better comply because otherwise you’re not getting any federal funding,” Trump told Mills during a meeting of the nation’s governors at the White House in February. Mills argued she would “see [him] ion court” over the matter, to which the president responded: “I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one.” TRUMP TOOK ON THE ‘ENTIRE’ INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL WORLD ORDER WITH TARIFFS: JOURNALIST “Enjoy your life after governor,” he added, “because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.” A second notable clash with Democrats came during Trump’s joint address to Congress in March. Several Democrats held up anti-Trump signs, shouted and moaned in the middle of Trump’s speech, and some ultimately walked out. Progressive Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas had to be escorted out of the House chamber because he would not stop disrupting the president’s speech and was subsequently censured by members of his own party over the stunt. “I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or make them stand and smile or applaud,” Trump said during his address, looking toward the Democrats’ side of the House chamber. “I could find a cure to the most devastating diseases. A disease that would wipe out entire nations, or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history… and these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements.” PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT: HOW TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS STACK UP AGAINST INAUGURATION DAY PLEDGES “It’s very sad,” Trump added. “And it just shouldn’t be this way.” The press has not been spared from public lashings by Trump during his second term, either. In one notable back-and-forth, Trump was asked by a reporter in the Oval Office whether he thought he had the legal authority to mass deport illegal aliens. In response, the president flipped the script on the reporter, asking in return: “Did Biden have the authority to allow millions of people to come into our country?” In another testy back-and-forth with reporters, this time aboard Air Force One, Trump did not mince words with a reporter from Bloomberg who questioned Trump about his tariffs. HOW DONALD TRUMP DOMINATES THE NEWS, BOTH POSITIVELY AND NEGATIVELY “I think your questions are so stupid,” Trump told the reporter aboard Air Force One after he was asked if there was any “pain in the market at some point you’re unwilling to tolerate?” “I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” Trump shot back. “And we have such a horrible, we have been treated so badly, by other countries because we had stupid leadership that allowed this to happen.” Trump’s public lashings of Democrats and the media have also included new nicknames for the president’s political opponents. One of those targets, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., garnered himself a new nickname this term: “Watermelon-Head.” The nickname follows Trump’s first-term nickname he gave to Schiff: “Pencil neck.” TRUMP WHITE HOUSE TAKES 100-DAY VICTORY LAP ON REFORMING KEY AGENCY AMID FIERCE PUSHBACK “Adam ‘Schifty’ Schiff – can you believe this guy?” Trump said at a dinner hosted by the National Republican Congressional Committee earlier this month. “He’s got the smallest neck I’ve ever seen – and the biggest head: We call him Watermelon-Head.” Trump went on to ponder how Schiff’s “big fat face” could “stand on a neck” the size of the president’s finger. “It’s the weirdest thing – it’s a mystery; no one can understand it.” Another Trump nickname to come from his first 100 days did not target a specific person, but Democrats as a whole who have been against his tariff policies. “The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO. Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!),” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social earlier this month. “Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!”
EXCLUSIVE: Cattle industry chief warns flesh-eating fly menaces US herds as Mexico yields on pest fight
The nation’s top cattle industry leader sounded the alarm Tuesday that a flesh-eating fly infestation advancing through Mexico remains a dire threat to U.S. ranchers, even as the Trump administration claimed a key victory in efforts to stop it. Buck Wehrbein, president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and a cattle feeder from eastern Nebraska, praised Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins for taking aggressive action against the outbreak of the New World screwworm, a parasitic fly whose larvae can burrow into the flesh of livestock and often cause fatal wounds. But Wehrbein warned that with just one day left before a U.S. ultimatum expires, “the crisis is far from over” and American cattle herds remain in jeopardy. “If this screwworm crosses into the United States, it could devastate our industry,” Wehrbein told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. USDA THREATENS TO HALT MEXICAN BEEF IMPORTS OVER FLESH-EATING FLY CRISIS’ “These parasites literally eat livestock alive. We eradicated them from the U.S. in the 1960s, and we’re not about to let them take hold here again.” Wehrbein noted that the U.S. government spent millions of dollars to wipe out New World screwworm decades ago – only for the pest to reemerge in Central America and begin creeping northward toward Texas. The screwworm was first detected in southern Mexico late last year, prompting U.S. authorities to scramble resources to contain it. The USDA temporarily halted imports of Mexican cattle from late November until February after a screwworm case surfaced in Chiapas, underscoring how seriously officials view the threat to America’s food supply. MAINE’S FEDERAL FUNDING FREEZE FROM TRUMP’S USDA REVERSED Now, U.S. agriculture officials are racing to build a final barrier against the flesh-eating fly before it reaches the border. For decades, the United States and Mexico have relied on a sophisticated sterile insect technique (SIT) program, using aircraft to release millions of sterile male flies to keep screwworm populations in check. But that strategy was recently thrown into chaos amid bureaucratic interference by Mexican authorities, who U.S. officials say blocked and delayed critical fly-release missions just as the outbreak intensified. According to the USDA and cattle industry representatives, Mexico “failed to uphold their end” of the bi-national eradication effort by refusing landing permissions, charging import duties on U.S.-funded equipment and limiting fly drops to six days a week, conditions that officials say allowed the pest to spread further. Wehrbein did not hide his frustration. “We were pulling our hair out,” he said. “The science is there to stop this bug, but not if the planes are grounded over paperwork. Every day of delay gave the screwworm a bigger foothold.” In an April 26 letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Secretary Rollins gave Mexico an April 30 deadline to resolve the issues or face a halt in the import of live cattle, bison and equine, a move that would strike a blow to Mexico’s ranching economy and tighten U.S. supply chains already under pressure. “It certainly got their attention,” Wehrbein noted. “No one wants to shut down trade. That’s a last resort that would hurt producers on both sides. But Secretary Rollins and President Trump made it crystal clear that protecting America’s herds comes first.” Wehrbein said the NCBA met with senior Mexican embassy officials in Washington last week to emphasize the urgency. “Ranchers in Mexico and the U.S. are on the same side here. We need this pest stopped,” Wehrbein said. “It shouldn’t take high-level threats to get commonsense cooperation.” On Tuesday, Rollins posted on X that Mexico has agreed to allow U.S. sterile fly planes to land, calling it “a HUGE win for our American ranchers!” Fox News Digital has reached out to Secretary Rollins’ office for further details and confirmation but has not yet received a response. Wehrbein welcomed the announcement, saying it marked a turning point, but not the end of the threat. “Getting those fly planes back in the air is absolutely critical. It’s a relief to see Mexico finally do the right thing,” he said. “Frankly, it should never have taken this long. But at least now we have a fighting chance to contain the outbreak before it reaches our border.” While the flight permissions appear to have been restored, it remains unclear whether Mexico will waive the import duties or allow seven-day operations, both of which the USDA had demanded. Rollins has also called for a senior liaison from the Mexican government to ensure faster coordination moving forward. Longer term, Wehrbein said the U.S. needs to reconsider how much it relies on outside partners for biosecurity. “This situation shows why we need our own domestic supply of sterile flies,” he said. “If we had a facility here at home cranking them out, we wouldn’t be at the mercy of another country’s cooperation.” A veteran of the cattle industry, Wehrbein was raised on a farm in eastern Nebraska and spent years working in Texas commercial cattle feeding. He now operates a feedlot just outside Omaha and has served in leadership roles at both the state and national level. This year, he was elected president of the NCBA, the country’s largest and oldest organization representing cattle producers, and has become the group’s key voice in Washington. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “We love this industry. We’re proud to feed the country and the world,” Wehrbein said. “But it takes vigilance, cooperation and leadership to protect it. The screwworm is a reminder that we’re always one outbreak away from disaster, and we’ve got to stay ahead of it.” Fox News Digital’s Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
Trump laughs off protester who attempted to disrupt 100 days speech: ‘Thought it was a guy’
President Donald Trump laughed off a protester who attempted to disrupt a speech he was giving in Michigan marking his first 100 days in office, joking that he “thought it was a guy.” As the president was praising Republican National Committee leader Michael Watley, there appeared to be some type of disruption in the crowd, causing the president to pause his speech. “What’s the problem over there?” Trump said. “What’s the problem? Is that a radical left lunatic? He’s just a child. All right, get him out.” As security personnel removed the protester and the crowd booed, Trump apologized for calling the person a man, saying it was actually a woman who was thrown out. “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, ma’am, I thought it was a guy,” Trump said. “I’m sorry, I said he and it’s a she.” TRUMP RALLIES PACKED CROWD IN MICHIGAN TO CELEBRATE FIRST 100 DAYS IN OFFICE Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for confirmation and has not yet received a reply. Trump continued, quipping that “she now has to go home to a mother who’s a big Trump fan. Her mother’s watching.” During his speech, Trump slammed former President Joe Biden and touted the first 100 days of his second term as the “most successful” of any administration in history. The president’s remarks came during Trump’s first major political rally since taking office, organized to celebrate Trump’s achievements throughout his second term thus far. TRUMP SLAMS ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ OPPOSING BUDGET BILL “We’re here tonight in the heartland of our nation to celebrate the most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of our country, and that’s according to many, many people,” Trump told a roaring crowd of supporters. “This is the best, they say, 100-day start of any president in history, and everyone is saying it.” “Week by week, we’re ending illegal immigration. We’re taking back our jobs, [we] are protecting our great American autoworkers and all of our workers. Frankly, we’re protecting all of our workers. We’re restoring the rule of law,” he said. “We’ve just gotten started. You haven’t seen anything yet. It’s just kicking off.” Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
Trump slams Republican ‘grandstanders’ opposing budget bill, predicts massive US tax increases if it fails
During a speech in Michigan marking his first 100 days in office, President Donald Trump slammed Democrats and Republican “grandstanders” opposing his “big beautiful” budget reconciliation bill, saying if they succeed, Americans will see the “highest tax increase in history.” He said his bill has “100% just about Republican support,” adding it “would be nice if we had just a couple of Democrats just to make sure, because, you know, every once in a while, you have a grandstander Republican. We have some grandstanders.” As the crowd booed, Trump noted there were “not many” Republicans opposing his bill, but he urged viewers to “remember who those grandstanders were and vote them the hell out of office.” Trump cautioned that if the bill fails, the U.S. is “going to have the highest tax increase in history instead of the greatest tax cut in history.” EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP TAX CUTS ‘TOP PRIORITY’ FOR CONGRESS, SAYS TOP HOUSE GOP LEADER “If the Democrats prevail on this bill, you get a 58% tax increase,” Trump told the crowd. “Would you like that? “All my life I’ve been watching, and I’ve never heard people campaigning that they’re going to raise taxes. It’s always been, ‘We will reduce your taxes.’ Democrat, Republican. Now, they go, ‘We’re going to raise your taxes. I’ve never seen all the years that they campaign. ‘We will raise your taxes.’ I said, ‘This country has gone crazy.’” SCOOP: REPUBLICANS ROLL OUT $69B FUNDING PLAN FOR NEW CBP AGENTS, BUILDING BORDER WALL IN TRUMP BUDGET BILL Though most Democrats will likely oppose Trump’s spending bill, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters after a meeting Monday with Republican leaders that House and Senate GOP leaders are “in lockstep” on passing the budget bill. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Republicans are seeking to fit Trump’s priorities on energy, defense, border security and taxes into the bill, as well as raising the debt ceiling, another item the president specifically asked GOP lawmakers to deal with. Fox News Digital also recently reported that House Republicans are carving out $68.8 billion for Trump’s border wall and to hire more agents in the field. Fox News Digital’s Liz Elkind and Kelly Phares contributed to this report.
On Trump’s 100th day, Chinese communist regime declares it will ‘never kneel’ to U.S. pressure in fiery video
On the 100th day of President Donald Trump’s second term, China issued a brash challenge to American leadership, releasing a fiery propaganda video declaring it will “never kneel down” to U.S. pressure — a direct reaction to Trump’s aggressive new trade policies. The video titled “Never Kneel Down!” was posted Tuesday, April 29 by the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s official X account, @MFA_China. The timing is conspicuous: It coincided with President Trump’s 100th day in office. “When the rest of the world stands together in solidarity, the U.S. is just a small, stranded boat,” an AI narration warns, over dramatic storm footage and war imagery. The Wall Street Journal reported that the video also accuses the U.S. of “coercion” and labels American tariff strategy a “deadly trap.” DAVID PERDUE CONFIRMED AS TRUMP’S TOP CHINA DIPLOMAT AFTER KEY SENATE VOTE In another ominous line, the narration states: “Bowing to a bully is like drinking poison to quench thirst.” The video includes imagery of the Korean War and the 2021 return of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, portraying both as symbols of China’s “resistance.” Earlier this month, President Trump imposed a 145% tariff on Chinese imports while granting a 90-day tariff pause for all other nations, effectively isolating China. Trump’s strategy aims to reward fair trade partners while pressuring Beijing for reforms. China retaliated with 125% tariffs on U.S. goods, but many analysts say the CCP is operating from a weaker position. TRUMP MARKS 100-DAYS IN OFFICE EMBROILED IN TRADE BATTLES, DEADLY WARS AND HARD PRESSED DEALS “It’s up to China to de-escalate, because they sell five times more to us than we sell to them,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday on CNBC. The CCP’s video, published in both English and Mandarin, uses heavy-handed messaging and historical imagery to portray China as a victim of Western dominance — a common trope in official Chinese media. According to the WSJ report, the video claims: “History has proven compromise won’t earn you mercy—kneeling only invites more bullying.” Beijing’s saber-rattling comes amid rising domestic pressure: Youth unemployment in China is at record highs, and GDP growth has slowed, according to Bloomberg Economics and the International Monetary Fund. This is not the first time Trump has put China in check. During his first term, he imposed tariffs on more than $360 billion in Chinese goods, citing intellectual property theft and forced tech transfers. That campaign led to the Phase One Trade Deal signed in 2020. Now back in office, Trump’s strategy is making Chinese economic policymakers nervous. “All bullies are just paper tigers,” the AI narrator says while showing a tiger holding an American flag in its tail. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump’s tariffs are putting real economic pressure on Beijing, at a time when the nation can ill-afford it.