Trump touts economy at Michigan 100-day rally as Americans grow wary

US President Donald Trump touted what he called major economic wins and forcefully attacked Democrats during a rally in Michigan on Tuesday as polling showed Americans growing more skeptical about his hardline approaches to trade and immigration.

During a campaign-style rally meant to commemorate his first 100 days in office, Trump said his moves to impose tariffs on US trading partners could lead to a resurgence in domestic manufacturing.

"We had the greatest economy in the history of our country," Trump said of his first presidency from 2017 to 2021.

"We did great, and we're doing better now."

Americans have cooled on aspects of Trump's performance in recent weeks. In particular, people are fretting about Trump's economic stewardship amid stubborn inflation.

Trump renewed his criticisms of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying the central bank head was not doing a good job.

He doubled down on calls for Congress to slash taxes, a plan nonpartisan budget analysts said could add trillions to the nation's $36.6-trillion (R678-trillion) in debt.

"In the coming weeks and months we will pass the largest tax cuts in American history, and that will include no tax on tips, no tax on social security, no tax on overtime," Trump told the crowd in Warren, which is home to the General Motors Technical Centre and located not far from downtown Detroit.

The president slammed "radical left lunatics", briefly verbally sparred with a heckler and polled the crowd for their favourite nicknames for his predecessor, president Joe Biden.

Trump, who spoke in front of a banner that read "The Golden Age", paused to show supporters a slickly produced video montage highlighting the results of his administration's crackdown on illegal immigration: alleged gang members getting their heads shaved and put in prison. The crowd cheered.

Speaking briefly at a national guard base before the rally, the president touted his administration's investments in defence.

"I'll be supporting a record-setting $1-trillion (R1.5-trillion) investment in our national defence," said Trump, speaking before dozens of troops, his defense secretary Pete Hegseth and Democratic Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer.

Trump told the crowd at the military base in Selfridge it would receive 21 Boeing F-15X jets.

Whitmer said the move secured the base's mission and was a "huge, bipartisan win for Michigan" that will protect jobs.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump signed an order to soften the blow of his auto tariffs with a mix of credits and relief from other levies.

At the Warren rally, Trump cast his tariffs as an economic lifeline for Michigan.

"With my China tariffs, we're ending the greatest job theft in the history of the world," Trump said to cheers.

"China has taken more jobs from us than any country has ever taken from another country."

Trump said he thought a trade deal with China was on the horizon.

"But it's going to be a fair deal," he said.

Polls show Americans are not convinced of Trump's economic vision.

In a three-day Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Sunday, 42% of respondents approved of Trump's performance so far while 53% disapproved. That is down from 47% approval in the Reuters/Ipsos poll in January.

Only 36% of respondents approved of Trump's economic stewardship, the lowest level in his current and prior term.

Fears of a recession have surged as Trump has launched a global trade war, hiking tariffs to levels economists warn could grind trade with some countries, notably China,  nearly to a halt. The moves have shaken investors and companies.

The audience in Michigan was largely unconcerned.

Paul Ruggeri, a 65-year-old retired steelworker, said he was fine with some short-term economic pain to support Trump's policies.

"I don't want the economy to tank, but we can't continue down the road we're going," Ruggeri said.

"We've got to make changes. It's going to be painful for a little while. We're going to see some price increases probably. But it's got to change."

Democrats railed against Trump's presidency on the Senate floor on Tuesday night under the counter-programming banner "100 days of chaos" with many speeches expected to stretch well into the night.

Some described Senate Republicans as "co-conspirators" who secretly oppose Trump's agenda but refuse to voice full-throated criticism.

"The president is testing and violating the bounds of our constitution, amassing power for himself as the economy tanks, violating the rights of Americans and destroying our image abroad," said senator Richard Durbin, of Illinois, the chamber's No 2 Democrat.

"But it seems the ambition of the Republican-controlled legislative branch is all but absent as Donald Trump's government goes out of control. It is the silence of the lambs."

Outside the community college where Trump's rally was held, protesters lined a busy street, carrying upside down American flags and waving signs that read "I dissent".

Reuters