Workers praised, media razed
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — President Donald Trump hit the road Friday to deliver a pep talk to American workers and the rest of the nation, resurrecting the jobs promises that powered his election victory and pledging in a campaign-style rally to “unleash the power of the American spirit.”
But he swerved from that positive message to escalate his complaints about news coverage of his young administration. Shortly
after he arrived at his luxury, oceanfront estate in Palm Beach, Florida, for the weekend, he tweeted that outlets like the New York Times, NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN, all of which he labeled as “the FAKENEWS media,” are not his enemy but “the enemy of the American People.”
Although Trump has long colorfully criticized news coverage and sparred with reporters, he had not previously labeled the Fourth Estate as being an enemy of the country.
His latest outburst came a day after he forcefully defended his administration in a marathon White House news conference, brushing aside the tumult, infighting among senior staff members and setbacks in courts and Congress.
He took a more upbeat tack in South Carolina.
“We love our workers, and we are going to protect our workers,” Trump said at a Boeing plant where the company showed off its new 787-10 Dreamliner aircraft. “We are going to fight for jobs. We are going to fight for our families.”
Trump is expected to stick to the theme today when he holds a big rally in central Florida, a change of scenery that marks an effort to galvanize a month-old White House that has been buffeted by crisis and paralyzed by dysfunction.
In North Charleston, the new president toured a 787-10 still under construction and, before leaving, sat in the pilot’s seat of a completed airplane that formed the backdrop for his remarks. Some 5,000 employees and others inside a hangar greeted him with chants of “USA, USA.”
The president praised the Boeing jetliner as “an amazing piece of art.”
“The name says it all. Dreamliner, great name,” Trump said. “Our country is all about making dreams come true.
“As your president I’m going to do everything I can to unleash the power of the American spirit and to put our great people back to work,” he said. “This is our mantra: Buy American and hire American.”
Trump also mentioned that he’s been in talks with Boeing executives to reduce the cost of building a future Air Force One aircraft.
Trump then departed South Carolina for his estate in Palm Beach, where he plans to spend the holiday weekend. He arrived late Friday afternoon.
The president is still trying to stabilize his national security team. On Monday, he demanded the resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn following revelations that Flynn had misled Vice President Mike Pence about Flynn’s contacts with Russia. Trump’s first choice to replace Flynn — Vice Admiral Robert Harward — turned down the offer.
FBI Director Jim Comey left a meeting with senators on the intelligence committee Friday afternoon. Neither Comey nor the senators would discuss the subject of the meeting, but it followed reports that the FBI had interviewed Flynn about his contacts in late December with Russian officials.
Trump tweeted Friday that “General Keith Kellogg, who I have known for a long time, is very much in play for NSA — as are three others.” Kellogg, who is serving as the acting national security adviser, traveled to South Carolina with Trump aboard Air Force One. The White House said Trump might interview national security candidates at his estate.
Also along on the Florida trip were Trump’s daughter Ivanka; her husband, Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to Trump; White House chief of staff Reince Priebus; and strategist Steve Bannon.
Trump has scheduled a campaign-style rally today at an airport hangar in Melbourne. The rally comes as he makes his third weekend trip this month to what he calls his “Winter White House,” his Mar-a-Lago resort. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the rally is an example of how Trump plans to “continue taking his message directly to the American people.”
In his tweets, Trump made it clear that he doesn’t trust the news media to do so. It took the president two tries to properly post his antimedia message; the first tweet, which was quickly deleted, listed just the Times, CNN and NBC and ended with this conclusion: “SICK!” The second tweet added ABC and CBS to the list, while removing “SICK!”
The media has been credited with breaking stories about Trump’s administration that have prompted action this week, including asking for the resignation of his national security adviser Monday and his nominee for labor secretary withdrawing from consideration Wednesday.