US leader rallies supporters in old campaign style

PRESIDENT Donald Trump turned back the clock on Saturday with a bold and aggressive Florida speech straight out of his 2016 campaign playbook, enthralling fans while insisting all is well in the White House despite weeks of turbulence.

He also took aim at his favourite foil, the “dishonest” news media that he said has become “part of the corrupt system”.

At the end of a stormy first month in office, the billionaire took the power of the presidency on the road, revisiting the style and substance of the campaign trail.

After stepping down from Air Force One to a deafening cheer, he was drawn into several thousands of his dearest followers – mostly white, mostly male middleAmericans who feel they have been left behind by the country’s shifting economy.

“I’m here because I want to be among my friends and among the people,” he said.

Trump employed a loud and muscular delivery to assure Americans he is fulfilling promises to shrink government, rebuild the military, restrict immigration, and tear up health care reforms enacted by predecessor Barack Obama.

But Trump was completing his first month in office under a cloud in Washington, where lawmakers pledged to further investigate his possible pre-election ties to Russia, his national security advisor was forced to resign in disgrace, and a cabinet nominee withdrew amid controversy. “The White House is running so smoothly, so smoothly,” Trump stressed, before going on an extended rant about the US media.

“I also want to speak to you without the filter of the fake news,” Trump said. “They’ve become a big part of the problem. They are part of the corrupt system,” he said, continuing the open warfare with the media that has marked his young presidency.

Republican leaders in Congress have said they will unveil their health care plans in the coming weeks as well. — AFP