Sunday, 19 February 2017

Donald Trump's first rally as US President looked a lot like an election campaign

Extract from ABC News

Updated about 2 hours ago


Donald Trump has held his first rally as US President, telling the crowd he wanted to be "among my friends and among the people" and speak to them "without the filter of fake news".

Key points:

  • The President said that unfavourable opinion polls were "phony"
  • He said a revised executive order on immigration would be coming in a matter of days
  • The rally can be seen as an especially early start to the 2020 election campaign
"When the media lies to people, I will never ever let them get away with it," he told thousands of his supporters who had gathered in an airport hangar in Melbourne, Florida.
Yesterday, the President called the media "the enemy of the American people".
The rally looked and sounded a lot like those Mr Trump held during his presidential campaign, with familiar slogans like "we don't win anymore" and "drain the swamp" getting an airing.
Only this time, the backdrop as he entered was Air Force One rather than Trump Force One, as his private jet was nicknamed.


The rally followed Mr Trump's first month in office which has included turmoil over his immigration ban and the resignation of his national security adviser following revelations Michael Flynn had discussed US sanctions with Russia's ambassador while Barack Obama was still president.
Opinion polls have shown Mr Trump as having a high disapproval rating, but he said they were "phony".
"You've seen what we've accomplished in a very short period of time. The White House is running so smoothly," Mr Trump said.
"Believe me, I inherited one big mess, that I can tell you."
The President listed the promises he had kept, including deporting immigrants, pulling out of trade agreements and making a start on the wall along the Mexican border.
He said a revised executive order on immigration would be coming in a matter of days. The Homeland Security chief had earlier said that this time, green card residency holders would not be barred from entering the US.
Mr Trump is also interviewing at least four candidates to serve as his new national security adviser. His first choice, Retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward, turned down the offer.

'Everybody attacks him for anything'


Carmela Rocheleau, a 33-year-old registered nurse who attended Mr Trump's rally, said "everybody is going against him".
"I want him to know that we care about all the hard work that he's doing because it seems like everybody attacks him for anything and nobody shows him any good credit," she said.
Gene Huber, a 47-year-old car salesman, said he had been in line since 4:00am.

Video: Trump defends his administration as 'running like a fine-tuned machine'. (ABC News)

"His excitement and the love that he shows us, the people, that's why each day brought me stronger and closer to him," he said.
The rally can be seen as an especially early start to the 2020 election campaign. Mr Trump filed re-election papers with the Federal Election Commission just five hours after he was sworn in as President.
"Life is a campaign. Making our country great again is a campaign," he told reporters on Air Force One.
The rally ended with the Rolling Stones song You Can't Always Get What You Want.

ABC/wires

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