Trump holds campaign-style Michigan rally in to mark 100 days in office

To celebrate his first 100 days in office, President Donald Trump went back to his greatest hits.

During a rally Tuesday in Warren, Mich., commemorating the early marker of his second term, Trump leaned into much of the rhetoric that became a staple of his campaign rallies, hitting on major themes like the economy and immigration even as his poll numbers are among the worst of any president at this point in office.

“I miss the campaign,” Trump said to a raucous crowd, lamenting the fact that he no longer gets to regularly hold rally-style events with his most loyal political supporters.

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Recent public polling has shown Trump’s approval rating consistently in the low-to-mid-40s, numbers at odds with the rosy portrayal given by Trump during his Michigan stop.

The Trump administration’s focus on illegal immigration and the border have consistently been his highest performing policy focuses, but his plan to implement sweeping tariffs has roiled global markets get have gotten poor marks, and a recent CNBC poll found that 57% of respondents believe the United States is either headed to recession or already in one.

But Trump, in characteristic fashion Tuesday, cast his first three months in office as a universal success.

It has been “the most successful first 100 days of administration in the history of our country,” he said. “And that’s according to many, many people.”

“He is doing what needs to be done,” said Cheri Verardi, who attended the event. “It’s hard for some people to swallow, but we need to see how it will play out. And I believe it’s going to play out for the betterment of our country.”

Deborah Spencer, another rally attendee, said she does not like how she has so far “lost money for retirement” as the markets have dropped due to Trump’s economic policies. But says she still has faith in him.

“I’m confident that President Trump has our best interests,” she said.

Thousands attended the Michigan rally, but the overall size of the event paled in comparison to past campaign-era Trump rallies. Trump referenced “all the people outside,” even as the venue itself was not at capacity.

Trump’s second term has been marked with fights with federal courts, many of whom have ruled against some of his most controversial policies, but has ushered in an eroding relationship between the U.S. and some of its closest global allies. It has also sought to overhaul the federal government with the help of tech billionaire Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency which has ushered in mass layoffs of government workers.

During his second term, Trump’s MAGA base has brushed off concerns about tariffs as “short-term pain” and embraced his border policies, while Democrats have amplified their concerns about what they say are the president’s authoritarian tendencies after he his administration have focused on mass deportations.

The low polling numbers stemming from some of his early administration policies were brushed off by Trump as “fake.”

“If it were a legit poll, it would be in the 60s or 70s,” Trump said Tuesday.

Holding the rally in Michigan itself points to that state’s importance in next year’s midterm elections. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., is not seeking re-election, making the state one of the top Senate-side battleground states headed into 2026. Trump has not endorsed a candidate in the race, but Republican leadership in the Senate has backed Mike Rogers, who lost last year’s race to Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin.

In an unexpected twist, Trump also used the day to find some common ground with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat and persistent Trump critic who is considering a run for president in 2028. During an event hours before the rally in Warren, Trump announced a new series of fighter jets for Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan, giving the credit to Whitmer, whose recent visit to the White House to discuss tariffs drew criticism from many in her own party.

At the rally, Trump focused one of his attacks on Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., who on Monday introduced articles of impeachment against Trump, saying the president is a “clear and present danger to our nation’s constitution and democracy.”

“What the hell did I do? Here we go again,” said Trump, who was impeached by the House twice during his first term in office. “I had the television way down, and I id to our great first lady, ‘Listen, did I just hear us being impeached again?’”

Trump advisers have told NBC News they don’t see Democrats retaking the House, but they continue to talk about the idea of Democrats trying to impeach Trump as a voter turnout mechanism headed into the 2026 midterms.

“The Democrats are not taking the House,” a Trump adviser told NBC News Tuesday. “But this is about making sure voters remember the stakes of the midterm elections.”