Bullish Trump renews his battle with the 'incompetent' media as he mocks 'boring' White House Correspondents' Dinner he snubbed and boasts that his First 100 Days rally attracted 'much better people'
- Donald Trump held rally commemorating his first 100 days in office in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Saturday
- He spoke to nearly 10,000 people and claimed to have broken 'the all-time record' for the arena
- Mocked the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, which was held at the same time in Washington
- Elite reporters, Trump claimed, 'would love to be with us' but were 'trapped at the dinner, which will be very, very boring'
- He said the political media 'deserves a very, very big, fat fat failing grade' for its coverage of his first 100 days
- Vice President Mike Pence warmed up the crowd and blamed 'left-wing activists and their willing allies in the media' for 'ignoring the facts and spreading that fake news'
- Trump blasted Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and said if Democrats 'knew what the hell they were doing' they would approve funding for his border wall
President Donald Trump renewed his fierce battle with the nation's political press corps on Saturday night while America's journalistic upper-crust were feting themselves at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington.
Trump was in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, speaking to nearly 10,000 people, a crowd that he claimed 'broke the all-time record' for the arena.
'There's another big gathering taking place tonight in Washington, D.C.,' he said, drawing a chorus of boos.
'A large group of Hollywood actors and Washington media are consoling each other in a hotel ballroom in our nation's capital right now,' he said, insisting that 'I could not possibly be more thrilled to be more than 100 miles away from Washington's swamp.'
Trump also said he had attracted 'a much, much larger crowd – and much better people.'
Donald Trump held a rally commemorating his first 100 days in office on Saturday night
Donald Trump is pictured arriving at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where the rally was held
The rally drew a crowd of about 10,000 voters, which Trump said 'broke the all-time record' for the arena
Trump is pictured surrounded by supporters holding sings including 'Women for Trump,' 'Drain the Swamp' and 'Make America Strong Again'
Reporters from CNN and MSNBC, outlets that have historically been antagonistic toward the president, 'would actually rather be here' instead of at the dinner, he said.
'They would love to be with us right here tonight. But they're trapped at the dinner, which will be very, very boring.'
'The media,' he said, 'deserves a very, very big, fat fat failing grade' for its coverage of his first 100 days in office.
He singled out 'the failing New York Times,' saying its poor financial management has forced it to shrink its print edition past the point where 'pretty soon they'll only be on the Internet.'
'The paper's getting smaller and smaller. Did you ever notice? It's starting to look like a comic book.'
Vice President Mike Pence introduced the commander-in-chief, congratulating him for completing '100 days of action, 100 days of consequence, and 100 days that will be remembered as the days we began to make America great again.'
Pence blamed 'left-wing activists and their willing allies in the media' for 'ignoring the facts and spreading that fake news.'
'He's driving them all a little bit crazy,' he said.
Mike Pence, pictured at left clapping and smiling, introduced the president who is pictured waving to his fans
Trumped mocked the White House Correspondents' Dinner during his rally. He declined to attend this year's dinner
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Trump, said Pence, has 'signed more bills cutting job-killing regulations than any president in American history.'
And 'thanks to President Donald Trump, ISIS is on the run in Iraq, in Syria and Afghanistan, and we will not rest until we destroy ISIS once and for all.'
Before arriving at the Farm Show Complex, the president visited a nearby tool manufacturing company for a run-of-the-mill photo op, signing a pair of executive orders.
One is a response to foreign trade violations – an effort to re-examine every trade relationship in the U.S. portfolio.
The other launches a specialized Trade Office at the White House to focus in international commerce.
The president told employees of the Ames Companies that 'we believe in "Made in the USA," and it's coming back faster and faster.'
'We've taken unprecedented steps to bring back American wealth, American jobs and American dreams.'
A pool reporter overheard the company's CEO, Ron Kramer, telling Trump: 'We'll do just fine if there's a level playing field.'
A boy holds an action figure-type doll showing a younger Donald Trump at the rally in Harrisburg
A protester holding up a Russian flag with the word 'Trump' written on it is grabbed by the president's supporters during the rally
A man is pictured before the rally begins wearing an anti-transgender shirt
Kramer explained to reporters that his Mexican and Chinese competitors flood the U.S. with tools made from with state-subsidized steel and wood, whose lower costs undercut companies like Ames.
Asked about the correspondents' dinner competing for media oxygen with his rally, the president said that he wishes the D.C. press corps 'a good dinner.'
'But ours is going to be much more exciting, I think. We have a big crowd,' he said. 'We sold thousands and thousands of tickets.'
Pennsylvania turned out to be a key battleground for the president, who won the Keystone State by less than 1 per cent and scooped up 20 electoral votes in the process.
A protestor was surrounded by members of the group 'Bikers for Trump' and was later led out of the rally by a group member and a member of law enforcement
A protester wearing a t-shirt with 'Love Trumps Hate' written on it pleads her case before she is ejected by law enforcement
A protester wearing a t-shirt with the phrase 'Nasty Woman' is led away by police from Trump's 'Make America Great Again' rally in Harrisburg
Trump focused during his weekly radio address on rust-belt states including Pennsylvania where his improbable election was cemented.
'We're bringing back jobs,' he said on Friday. 'You asked the people of Michigan. You asked the people of Ohio. You can ask the people of Pennsylvania.'
'See what’s happening. See the car companies come roaring back in. They don't want to leave. They want to stay here. They want a piece of the action.'
Saturday's speech was a laundry list of campaign issues, folded together with a collection of his deliverables since Inauguration Day.
Terrorism and border security consumed more of Trump's time than other issues, and produced the most applause.
Donald Trump's supporters are pictured reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at the rally. Some attendees have their right hands over the hearts. Others do not
A man with a t-shirt that says 'Donald F*****g Trump' is pictured with his right hand over his heart as the crowd sings the national anthem
Citing 'bloodshed overseas,' he reiterated his position that the U.S. should erect strong procedural barriers to prevent the entry of would-be terrorists.
'We don't need to be admitting people who want to oppress, hurt or kill innocent Americans. They're not coming in,' he said.
'So let me state this as clearly as I possibly can: We are going to keep radical Islamic terrorists the hell out of our country.'
In his best stentorian voice, the president read 'The Snake,' an allegorical poem about the folly of welcoming existential threats with optimism and open arms.
It was a staple on the campaign trail, and much of Saturday's audience knew the punchline – 'You knew damn well I was a snake before you let me in' – delivered by the title character after he has bitten his naive host.
But Trump, as he was throughout the campaign, was never more wound-up than when he addressed the physical barrier he has promised along America's southern border.
The president has framed his proposal for an impenetrable wall between the U.S. and Mexico as a deterrent to both drug smugglers and human traffickers, and took credit Saturday night for already slowing down both illicit trades.
'The world is getting the message,' he said. 'If you try to illegally enter the United States, you will be caught [and] detained, deported or put in prison. And it will happen.'
But Democrats, Trump complained, have thrown tacks in the road as he's tried to secure funding for his wall.
A man holds a sign mocking the White House Correspondents' Dinner held in Washington DC at the same time as Trump's rally
A woman holding a sign that says 'promises made, promises kept' is pictured praying the invocation during the rally. Other attendees are pictured with their cell phones out
'We need it,' the president insisted. 'And if the Democrats knew what the hell they were doing, they'd approve it so easy!'
'Obviously they don't mind illegals coming in,' he vented. 'They don't mind drugs pouring in. They don't mind – excuse me – MS-13 coming in. We're getting them all out of here.'
'Members of Congress who will be voting on border security have a simple choice: They can either vote to help drug cartels and criminal aliens trying to enter the United States – like, frankly, the Democrats are doing – or they can vote to help Americans citizens and American families be safe. That's the choice.'
The president threw an unusually candid jab at New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the minority leader who is organizing Senate Democrats against him, calling him 'a bad leader' who has left the Democratic Party 'rudderless.'
'Schumer is weak on crime and wants to raise your taxes through the roof. He is a poor leader – known him a long time – and he's leading the Democrats to doom,' he said.
Two men, one of whom sports a shirt that says 'Bikers for Trump,' sing the national anthem at the rally
A man named Michael DeHaven holds up his voodoo dolls depicting Nancy Pelosi (left) and Chuck Schumer (right) at the rally
Donald Trump and Mike Pence appeared on a mobile billboard advertisement along the line of people waiting to enter his rally Saturday night
The Farm Show Complex had brushes with Trump during his long-slog campaign, serving as a rally venue on April 21, 2016 when Republican primary tensions were at their highest.
Hundreds of protesters squared off with rally-goers in the parking lot that night, with people on both side hurling foul language as the crowd made its way to their cars.
Shouts of 'Black Lives Matter' and 'Blue Lives Matter' drew police reinforcements to head off a near-riot.
But that was during the race for the White House, when provocateurs in Trump's audiences competed with the candidate for TV time by disrupting his speeches at every turn.
He had 12 ejected that night, remarking as one was yanked out of his seat: 'We love our police. They're running him out. I love this.'
Most of those protesters were wearing Bernie Sanders t-shirts. A few held up signs calling Trump a 'bigot' and a 'racist.' They were cited for disorderly conduct and later released.
Trump's April 2016 Harrisburg crowd was a middling one, estimated at just 5,000 – about half what he drew on Saturday night.
His rhetoric back then was standard campaign fare, declaring that 'we're going to knock the hell out of ISIS' and clobbering his traveling press corps as 'the worst' and 'the most dishonest people.'
He remarked as one protester was led out that the man had staged his own arrest 'right in front of the cameras.'
Protesters outside the Harrisburg event center were fewer and quieter this year than in April 2016, when they squared off against Trump supporters with such anger that the police had to separate the groups
VP Pence blamed 'left-wing activists and their willing allies in the media' for 'ignoring the facts and spreading that fake news'
Four months later, Harrisburg's elected leaders beat up Candidate Trump for denigrating their city during a Virginia rally.
The future president said he had seen Pennsylvania's capital city through the window of his Boeing 757 and found it lacking in industrial jobs.
'You look at these big, beautiful plants that are just rotting,' he said. 'They're just rotting. I flew into Harrisburg, Pennsylvania yesterday and I looked down, and it looked like a war zone where you [once had] these massive plants.'
The city fired back, with a spokesman taking Trump to task for an 'unfortunate mistake in disparaging Pennsylvania's capital city after a mere glance from the window of his airplane.'
On Saturday the president's detractors were largely subdued outside the arena, with only a handful causing trouble inside.
DailyMail.com witnessed eight activists being ejected, including a group of three young women shoved to the exit by police and two young men cornered by 'Bikers for Trump' muscle until state troopers arrived.
Trump shouted his oft-uttered 'Get them out!' at the first sign of a slogan-shouting opponent but largely ignored the others.
He did, however, praise a group of African-Americans clustered near the stage.
'Thank you for that sign,' he yelled at one. 'Blacks for Trump! I love that sign. ... that's really cool. I appreciate it.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4459478/Trump-war-reporters-Harrisburg-rally.html#ixzz4fm4qBZmL
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