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Trump Marks 100th Day In Office With Massive Rally, 2 Trade Orders

WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/AP)President Donald Trump marked the milestone of his 100th day in office Saturday in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, which he won on election night.

According to Gallup, Trump's approval rating is at 39 percent. That is the lowest of any president in decades.

But as CBS2's Brian Conybeare reported, the president is clearly comfortable on the campaign trail and feeds off the energy of crowds.

So instead of attending the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington, D.C., he hit the road to be surrounded by thousands of supporters.

Trump trumpeted the early accomplishments of his administration during a campaign-style rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Saturday night.

"I've signed 29 new bills, a record not surpassed since the Truman administration," he said.

Supporters started lining up outside the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center before dawn.

"What he's done in the past 100 days has really been a blessing to this country, and I look forward to the rest of his administration," one said.

"He's doing the best he can with what he's got. He's got so many on the left and the right that are fighting him," another supporter, Marion Roeland, said. "He's doing the best he can."

Trump also touted his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and MS-13, the El Salvadorian street gang known for ruthless violence here in New York.

"We've seen the horrible assaults and many killings all over Long Island where I grew up," he said.

This week, the real estate billionaire admitted being president is harder than he thought. He blamed Democrats for his failed effort to repeal and replace Obamacare, a signature campaign promise, and vowed to continue his fight to cut taxes and combat terrorism.

He also spent several minutes blasting the mainstream media.

"The media deserves a very, very big fat failing grade," Trump said.

Meanwhile in Washington, the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner went on without a president in attendance for the first time since 1981 when Ronald Reagan was in the hospital recovering from an assassination attempt.

"It is our job to report on facts and to hold leaders accountable, that is who we are. We are not fake news, we are not failing news organizations, and we are not the enemy of the American people," White House Correspondents Association President Jeff Mason said.

Earlier in the day, Trump signed two executive orders directing the Department of Commerce to investigate international trade deals and establish an Office of Manufacturing and Trade Policy in the White House.

"It's going to have a huge impact on jobs," he said.

With North Korean leader Kim Jong Un testing another missile this week, and testing the administration's patience, Trump also sat down with CBS News' John Dickerson for Sunday's "Face the Nation."

"I would not be happy. If he does a nuclear test, I will not be happy," he said.

Meanwhile, protesters took to the streets in Washington, D.C., New York and cities around the country for what was billed as the "People's Climate March," demanding the president take action on climate change.

There was also a smaller protest at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue that organizers called "100 Days of Failure."

Trump announced this past week that he intended to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and begin reworking a trade deal with South Korea, with which the U.S. has a significant trade deficit.

"There isn't a day that goes by that the president doesn't discuss some aspect of trade," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said at the White House Friday.

Early on in his tenure, Trump used an executive order to withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal negotiated by the Obama administration.

"From the first day of my administration, I have governed by a simple idea: My only allegiance is to you, our wonderful citizens," Trump said in his weekly radio and internet address. "Together we are seeing that great achievements are possible when we put American People first. That is why I withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. That day was a turning point for our nation. It put the countries of this world on notice that the sellout of the American worker was over."

He said in his remarks: "In just 14 weeks, my administration has brought profound change to Washington."

The two executive orders signed Saturday were the 31st and 32nd since taking office -- the most of any president in his first 100 days since World War II. During the campaign, Trump railed against President Barack Obama's use of the power, which has the benefit of not needing congressional approval.

The more significant of the two orders gives the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative 180 days to identify violations and abuses under U.S. trade agreements and recommend solutions.

Ross said the WTO, the arbiter of world trade rules, was bureaucratic and outdated and needed an overhaul. Ross played down the possibility that the United States would consider leaving the organization but didn't rule it out.

The administration argues that unfair competition with China and other trade partners has wiped out millions of U.S. factory jobs. Ross said dissatisfaction with trade policy is one reason voters turned to Trump.

Trump has ordered the Commerce Department to study the causes of the United States' massive trade deficit in goods — $734 billion last year, $347 billion with China alone. The administration is also imposing duties on Canadian softwood timber and is investigating whether steel and aluminum imports pose a threat to national security.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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