CUOMO town hall breaks down Trump’s first 100 days

During NewsNation’s town hall examining President Donald Trump’s first 100 days of his second term, the president defended his controversial tariff strategy, arguing the measures put America “in the catbird seat” for international trade negotiations despite concerns about their economic impact.

Watch the full town hall here.

U.S. Reps. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., and Rich McCormick, R-Ga., appear on split screen to talk about Trump’s first 100 days. Not surprisingly, they diverge in their assessments, with Auchincloss saying Trump is in danger of causing a recession through his tariffs. McCormick said the president’s goals are worthwhile.

O’Reilly accuses Auchincloss of repeating Democratic Party talking points but says Republicans are reading off their own script, too.

The “First 100 Days” continues on NewsNation.

“He’s a disruptor,” Bill O’Reilly says of President Trump when the topic turns to anti-Semitism and the president’s crackdown on universities. Unfortunately, O’Reilly said, the president can’t eradicate hatred.

Patrick Bet-David, a businessman and podcaster, joins the town hall to weigh in on Trump’s tariffs. He said the U.S. has a long-simmering trade fight with China, and the Trump administration is addressing it. “We can never lose the level of paranoia with China,” he said.

Too bad, Carville said, that Trump abandoned an initiative for the U.S. to join Pacific nations that were unifying economically against China.

“Gen X Talks!” podcast host Mark Mendenhall says he’s willing to let President Trump’s trade strategies play out, even though hearing about the adverse effects daily can be unnerving. He said that’s the patriotic thing to do. Carville says it’s not unpatriotic to disagree with a president.

Former Ohio state legislator Nina Turner said some people can’t wait for the results Trump promises.

Ronna McDaniel, former RNC chair, and former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu predicted Trump will eventually raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans to provide relief to the middle class that supported him in the election.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joins the town hall, saying the U.S. has more than 800 measles cases. Kennedy has been criticized for talking out of both sides of his mouth, regarding vaccines.

Kennedy says there are other illnesses, besides measles, that pose a threat to young Americans.

When Stephen A. Smith asks how slashing 20,000 jobs in his agency will help, Kennedy said HHS will be streamlined. The agency was filled with redundancies, he said.

Cuomo notes that politically polar opposites Steve Bannon and James Carville agree that the wealthiest should pay more taxes to help the middle class.

On DEI, it’s another story. Carville says diversity efforts can go too far but that inequities still linger. Bannon says minority communities have been harmed by illegal immigration; he reiterated that Trump’s intent to reshore jobs in the U.S. will also help these groups.

President Trump told the audience he “would love to see” town hall co-host Stephen A. Smith run for president.

Steve Bannon, former Trump strategist, joins the town hall remotely and says the middle class will benefit from Trump’s trade initiatives. He accuses Democrats of catering to billionaires in response to criticisms about Trump’s proposed tax cuts.

Democratic strategist James Carville says Trump made a lot of claims during his phone appearance on the town hall. “As we say in hurricane country, he was speaking 200 words a minute with gusts up to 350 words a minute,” Carville said of the Republican president.

He accused Trump of favoring the wealthy with his proposed tax cuts and insisted the president will target entitlements. O’Reilly disagreed and said there’s no proof to back that up.

Asked by Cuomo what Trump can do to be a great unifier, the president said demographics among his voters indicate he has broad appeal.

“What I have to do is save the country,” Trump said.

Trump leaves the conversation after thanking the town hall hosts after more than 30 minutes on air.

Trump defends his administration’s freeze of billions in federal grants to Harvard University. “We can grant that money to people that really need it,” the president said.

Meantime, the president said, he’ll take care of HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities): “I got them more money than they ever dreamt possible.”

An audience member asks, through O’Reilly, what Trump’s biggest mistake has been, so far. Trump says it’s been all about success.

Smith asks about Trump’s efforts to phase out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and the president says the emphasis is on merit now.

Co-host Stephen A. Smith asks Trump about whether lower-income Americans will be hurt more by tariffs than their wealthy counterparts. Trump reiterates the U.S. has been losing out against foreign trade partners, but the president says these countries are now eager to negotiate. “We’re in the catbird seat,” Trump says.

When asked what Trump told Zelenskyy in the Vatican when they attended Pope Francis’ funeral, he said: “I was telling him it’s a very good thing if we can produce a deal and you sign it, because Russia is much stronger.”

On Wednesday, the U.S. and Ukraine reached a rare minerals deal, which NewsNation’s Robert Sherman says could help hasten the end of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Chris Cuomo asks about whether entitlements, such as Social Security, could be on the chopping block in the federal budget. Trump insists he won’t do anything with entitlements.

Chris Cuomo asks Trump about the perception that his moves on tariffs could be considered erratic. Trump says it’s important to be flexible. Pointing to the relief he gave auto manufacturers around the tariffs, he said he remains flexible when people come to him with their problems. “It’s very much like that in business” and life, the president said.

Bill O’Reilly asks Trump what he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy we’re talking about at the Vatican over the weekend. Trump suggests he was pushing him to finally make a minerals/rare earths deal with the U.S., which will repay American taxpayers for the military support they’ve given to Ukraine to defend itself against Russia.

President Trump defends his controversial tariffs policy, saying it will be good for the U.S. in the long run in equalizing global trade. O’Reilly presses him about how much time it will take to show results, and the president lists a number of corporations building new projects in the country. “We’ve been the laughingstock and the whipping post,” he said of the way other nations have treated the U.S.

Bill O’Reilly introduces the president by telephone and asks him about polls that show some voters aren’t pleased with his job performance. Trump calls them “fake polls.”

Co-host Bill O’Reilly says it’s a good time to be an American. He said tonight’s event is meant to be informational, not confrontational. President Trump is expected to join by phone momentarily. “Sometimes he likes me, sometimes he doesn’t,” O’Reilly said, who credits Trump with trying to do more than any other president.

Immigration remains President Donald Trump’s strongest issue, but the economy has American voters increasingly concerned, an exclusive NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll found.

The poll, which surveyed 521 Republican, 560 Democrat, 349 independent and 18 “other” voters, found that a majority of respondents disapprove of Trump’s whirlwind first days.

A majority, 56%, of respondents disapproved of Trump’s second-term performance so far, and 44% approved. The party divide is evident in the responses — 86% of Republicans approved of his performance, while just 10% of Democrats said the same.

The numbers align with recent data from Real Clear Polling showing Trump with a 52.5% disapproval rating, the second-lowest 100-day rating in modern history, beaten only by his lower approval rating in his first term.

Read more findings of this NewsNation/ Decision Desk HQ poll here.

NewsNation National Correspondent Robert Sherman says the economic agreement just reached between the Trump administration and Ukraine on minerals could help hasten the end of the Russia-Ukraine war.

NewsNation Senior National Correspondent Brian Entin has been traveling the U.S. to ask voters how they feel about the first 100 days of President Trump’s second term. The reactions have been mixed, even among diehard Trump supporters. Las Vegas real estate broker Alina Gardner, who signaled support for Democrat Kamala Harris last fall, said she wants the president to succeed because that will be good for her. “If he does well, we do well,” she said.

Entin concludes his journey in St. Louis.

Bill O’Reilly, who will be co-hosting tonight’s town hall, talked with NewsNation’s Hena Doba as he waited in the wings before the town hall. O’Reilly said he hoped tonight’s event will give viewers a personal and spontaneous look into President Trump and his administration. “Nobody knows what the deuce is going to happen,” he said.

President Donald Trump began his second term by signing dozens of executive orders designed to advance key priorities from his campaign. But many of those actions are being challenged in court, with federal judges issuing rulings to stay some actions while legal challenges proceed or demanding a reversal of certain actions.

Here are some of the key areas facing legal challenges.

President Donald Trump issued dozens of executive orders in his first 100 days of his second term, many of which were focused on overhauling security at the nation’s borders, reforming immigration laws and implementing a rigorous tariff policy applied to a variety of countries and industries.

Here’s a look at his actions since his January inauguration on:

• Border and immigration
• Economy and tariffs