Trump returns to Michigan to mark first 100 days in office
President Trump came to Michigan on Tuesday to mark 100 days since taking office.
The second-term president spoke at Macomb Community College in Warren on Tuesday. It was the president's first visit to Michigan since taking office.
Mr. Trump first visited Selfridge Air National Guard Base on Tuesday afternoon, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also met with troops there.
The president snatched Michigan, along with all of the other battleground states, in the 2024 election. The state voted for Mr. Trump in 2016 but turned blue when it voted for former President Joe Biden in 2020. Additionally, Trump also won Dearborn, making him the first Republican presidential candidate to win the city since former President George W. Bush.
Since taking office, he has implemented multiple tariffs, including on foreign-made cars and auto parts, which received praise from United Auto Workers union President Shawn Fain.
Trump announces new investment at Selfridge Air Base
Mr. Trump announced 21 new F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets for the Selfridge Air Base on Tuesday. The president said they will replace the A-10 Warthogs.
"This will keep Selfridge at the cutting edge of North American air power," Trump said. "My administration will also continue with plans to replace the outgoing KC-135 and KC-46 Pegasus aircraft to continue that important refueling mission, and they'll be restocked as brand new, top-of-the-line refuelers for generations of men and women of Selfridge who've always been here and they've always been for us whether you're Republican or Democrat. They've always been for us."
Officials say the F-15 fighter jets will arrive in fiscal year 2028. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the new investment received bipartisan support.
"This is a huge, bipartisan win for Michigan, decades in the making, that will grow our economy and make our country safer," Whitmer said in a statement. "Since day one, I've been laser-focused on securing a new fighter mission at Selfridge and supporting the brave service members who step up for our communities every day. I appreciate the President's partnership on this new fighter mission that will protect jobs and show the world that Michigan is the best place to pioneer the next innovations in national defense. Because of our tireless work with partners on the ground in Macomb County and on both sides of the aisle, the future of Selfridge is bright, lasting, and secure. I'll keep working with anyone to get things done on the kitchen-table issues and make a real difference for Michigan families."
Trump praises his administration during Macomb County speech
After visiting the Selfridge Air Base, the president visited Macomb Community College, where he was met outside with hundreds of protestors.
"He has been going against the Supreme Court. There's just nothing good about what he's been doing: the tariffs, going after social security, Medicaid, Medicare," said Luna D.
Mr. Trump spoke for nearly two hours, praising the work his administration has done in its first three-plus months, including mass deportation operations, efforts to shrink the size and scope of government, and the changes he's making to the global trade landscape.
"We've done this all in 14 weeks, remember that 100 days we've done all the things that I've named and a lot more," he said.
Trump's supporters passionately filled the Macomb Sports & Expo Center with feelings that the president kept his word when campaigning in the area in the fall.
"I'm out here to support President Trump because he's making the right moves. Everything that he had promised, it's coming to fruition," said Phil Cataldo from Mount Clemens.
Mr. Trump won Macomb County in the 2024 election by over 70,000 votes.
When did Trump last visit Michigan?
Before being elected, Mr. Trump visited the Grand Rapids area on the eve of the 2024 election — the same place he visited the night before the 2016 and 2020 elections. This isn't the president's first time in Macomb County; he spoke at the college two times just before the election and also visited Dearborn, Michigan, to appeal to Arab American voters. The president won Macomb County by nearly 70,000 votes.
Other communities he visited last year included Novi, Howell, Traverse City and Detroit, where he was criticized for remarks about the Motor City.
"The whole country will be like — you want to know the truth? It'll be like Detroit," Mr. Trump said during his speech at the Detroit Economic Club in October. "Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she's your president."
Federal, state, and local leaders reacted to Trump's remarks, including Mayor Mike Duggan, who said, "Lots of cities should be like Detroit. And we did it all without Trump's help."
Mr. Trump is expected to discuss executive actions taken so far in his current term, including deportations.
