Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
CAMPAIGN REDUX
MELBOURNE, Fla. — Four weeks into his administration, President Donald Trump appeared at a rally that mirrored the election campaign, complete with promises to repeal the health care law, insults for the news media and a playlist highlighted by the Rolling Stones.
Trump promised anew to build a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, reduce regulations and create jobs. He also pledged to “do something over the next couple of days” to address the immigration order that has been blocked in the courts. Said Trump: “We don’t give up, we never give up.”
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One before the rally, Trump said he was holding a campaign rally because “life is a campaign.”
“To make America great again is absolutely a campaign,” he said. “It’s not easy, especially when we’re also fighting the press.”
First lady Melania Trump introduced her husband, reciting the Lord’s Prayer before pledging to act in the best interest of all Americans as she pursues initiatives she says will impact women and children around the world.
The event had the familiar trappings of a Trump campaign rally, including red Trump caps, “Make America Great Again” and at least one sign reading “Hillary for Prison.”
The rally came during Trump’s third straight weekend at his private south Florida club, Mar-a-Lago. Trump planned to interview at least four potential candidates for the job of national security adviser, a position open after retired Gen. Michael Flynn’s firing.
Interviews were scheduled with acting adviser, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster; and the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen.
Trump’s first choice, retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward, turned down the offer. Trump had also expressed interest in former CIA Director David Petraeus, but White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Saturday that Petraeus was not a finalist.