Trump embarks on media blitz to mark first 100 days of second term
President Trump is kicking off a media blitz this week to mark the first 100 days of his second term in the White House.
Trump is expected to take a victory lap with a speech Tuesday in Michigan, touting his administration’s work on the southern border and inflation in the battleground state he flipped red in November. The appearance will mark his first major speech outside of Washington since returning to the presidency.
Later that evening, ABC News is set to air a one-hour interview with the president to mark the 100th day of his second term. The sit-down with the network’s Terry Moran in the Oval Office is slated for a prime-time special at 8 p.m. EDT. It comes as a poll from ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos out Sunday shows Trump's approval rating, 39 percent, is the lowest 100-day rating of any president in the past 80 years.
On Wednesday, Trump is scheduled to join a town hall with NewsNation, moderated by anchor Chris Cuomo, for a live phone interview. The two-hour program, starting at 8 p.m. EDT, is set to feature other members of the Trump administration, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as commentators Bill O’Reilly and Stephen A. Smith.
And on Thursday, Trump will deliver a commencement address at the University of Alabama, an appearance that comes amid Trump’s ongoing feud with higher education institutions, particularly Ivy League schools.
The flurry of appearances this week comes after Trump sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Time magazine published last week. Another interview with The Atlantic was published Monday.
The Trump administration is touting the president's barrage of executive action, cuts to the federal workforce, trade moves and crackdown on immigration as he hits his 100-day mark on Tuesday.
But the president has seen troubling signs in polling around that benchmark: The latest CNN poll found Trump's approval lower than any president at 100 days dating to former President Eisenhower, and a Fox News poll also put him 11 points underwater.
"I feel that we've had a very successful presidency in 100 days," Trump told Time last week. "We've had people writing it was the best first month and best second month, and really the best third month. But that you won't know about for a little while, because it takes a little time in transition. You know, we're resetting a table."