By JOEY CAPPELLETTI, Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — President Donald Trump will mark his first 100 days in office next week with a rally in Michigan, his first since returning to the White House earlier this year.
Trump will visit Macomb County on Tuesday, the White House press secretary said. The region just north of Detroit, known as an automotive hub.
“President Trump is excited to return to the great state of Michigan next Tuesday, where he will rally in Macomb County to celebrate the FIRST 100 DAYS!” Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday on social media.
The rally will take place one day before Trump’s 100th day in office — a traditional early milestone in which a president’s progress is measured against campaign promises. Michigan was one of the key battleground states Trump flipped last year from Democrats on his path back to the White House.
Trump has not traveled much since taking office outside of personal weekend trips. His only other official trip in his second term was during the first week, when he visited disaster zones in North Carolina and California and held an event in Las Vegas to promote his plan to eliminate taxes on tips.
But later this week, Trump will travel to Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome, the first foreign trip in his second term.
Trump’s upcoming trip to Michigan follows a series of meetings and phone calls with the state’s high-profile Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer. Once a sharp critic of Trump, Whitmer has said that she hopes to find common ground with the president in his second term.
A key area of potential cooperation that Whitmer has pointed to is Selfridge Air National Guard Base, long a concern for Whitmer and Michigan lawmakers amid uncertainty over its future as the A-10 aircraft stationed there are phased out. The base is located in Macomb County, where he is set to appear Tuesday.
Trump mentioned Selfridge during an April 9 executive order signing in the Oval Office, an event that Whitmer was present for, saying he hoped to keep the base “open, strong, thriving.”
“I think we’re going to be successful, Governor. I think we’ll be very successful there,” Trump said about Selfridge.
Whitmer — whom Trump praised during his remarks — later said she was unexpectedly brought into the Oval Office during her visit. A photo captured her trying to shield her face from cameras with a folder.
Asked Wednesday if Whitmer would appear with the president in Michigan, a spokesperson for the governor said they “don’t have anything to share at this time.”
Whitmer and other Michigan officials have long advocated for a new fighter mission to replace the outgoing A-10 squadron at Selfridge.
In a 2023 letter sent during President Joe Biden’s administration, Whitmer urged the secretary of the Air Force to act, writing, “I repeat and reiterate what I stated in November and many times before over the past year: a fighter mission at Selfridge to recapitalize the A10s is the right path forward for the State of Michigan, the Air Force, and the nation.”