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Trump celebrates 100 days in office by touting record and blasting foes
US President Donald Trump has celebrated the 100th day of his second term in office with a campaign-style speech, touting his achievements and targeting political foes.
Hailing what he called a “revolution of common sense”, he told a crowd of supporters in Michigan that he was using his presidency to deliver “profound change”.
The Republican mocked his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, and aimed fresh criticism at the US Federal Reserve’s chairman, while dismissing polls that show his own popularity slipping.
Trump has delivered a dramatic fall in the number of migrants crossing illegally into the US, but the economy is a potential political vulnerability as he wages a global trade war.
According to Gallup, Trump is the only post-World War Two president to have less than half the public’s support after 100 days in office, with an approval rating of 44%.
But the majority of Republican voters still firmly back the president. And the rival Democratic Party is also struggling in polling.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) said Trump’s first 100 days were a “colossal failure”.
“Trump is to blame for the fact that life is more expensive, it’s harder to retire, and a ‘Trump recession’ is at our doorstep,” the DNC said.
Trump conducted his own informal poll in Tuesday’s remarks, asking the crowd for their favourite Biden nicknames. He also mocked his Democratic predecessor’s mental agility and even how he appears in a swim suit, while continuing to insist he was the real victor of the 2020 election, which he lost.
Other targets of his ire included Jerome Powell, head of the US central bank, whom the president said was not doing a good job.
Trump touted progress on immigration – encounters at the southern border have plummeted to just over 7,000, down from 140,000 in March of last year.
The White House also said almost 65,700 immigrants had been deported in his term so far, although that is a slower pace than in the last fiscal year when US authorities deported more than 270,000.
Part of the way through his speech Trump screened a video of deportees being expelled from the US and sent to a mega-prison in El Salvador.
His immigration crackdown has faced a flurry of legal challenges, as has his effort to end the automatic granting of citizenship to anyone born on US soil.
During Tuesday’s speech he insisted egg prices had declined 87%, a claim contradicted by the latest government price figures.
Inflation, energy prices and mortgage rates have fallen since Trump took office, although unemployment has risen slightly, consumer sentiment has sagged and the stock market was plunged into turmoil by the tariffs.
Before the speech, Joe DeMonaco, who owns a carpentry business in Michigan, said Trump’s patchwork of on-again, off-again import taxes were starting to increase prices, which he will have to pass on to his customers.
“I was hoping. . . he would approach things a little bit differently seeing that he’s a little seasoned coming into a second term,” Mr DeMonaco told the BBC. “But we’re just treading water and seeing if things get better from here.”
But it’s clear that Trump’s most steadfast supporters stand by him.
“I’m just thrilled,” Teresa Breckinridge, owner of the Silver Skillet Diner in Atlanta, Georgia, told the BBC.
“He’s handling things wherever he can, multiple times a day, and he’s reporting back to the people. . . I think the tariffs will end up definitely being in our favour.”
“We’ve just gotten started, you haven’t seen anything yet,” Trump told the crowd on Tuesday in a suburb of Detroit. Speaking at the hub of America’s automative industry, Trump said car firms were “lining up” to open new manufacturing plants in the Midwestern state.
Earlier in the day he softened a key element of his economic plan – tariffs on the import of foreign cars and car parts – after US car-makers warned of the danger of rising prices.
At his rally, Trump also said opinion polls indicating his popularity had fallen were “fake”.
[BBC]
Sonal Dinusha was fighting a lone battle unbeaten on 85 as play came to a close on day three, Sri Lanka still 238 runs behind India’s 503 for 9 declared, with just two wickets in hand. At the crease alongside him was Lahiru Kumara, who had done well to hold his own during a 50-ball vigil for eight runs.
Dinusha’s fifty was his third such score in this series as he showcased the resolve that had been sorely lacking across Sri Lanka’s innings – he was one of only five batters to face at least than 50 deliveries in the innings, of which two of them were certified tailenders in Kumara and Keshara Nuwantha.
For India, it was Prasih Krishna and Manav Suthar that did a majority of the damage with both picking up three wickets apiece.
But what would be even more frustrating for the hosts, is that India’s bowlers had for the most part not really done enough to merit such a batting capitulation.
Kamil Mishara received a spicy bouncer from Krishna, one he could only fend through to Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps, while on the second evening both Lahiru Udara and Prabath Jayasuriya can claim bad light had impaired them.
But the rest of Sri Lanka’s batters fell almost exclusively against the run of play. Kamindu Mendis looked excellent until he swatted a pull straight to midwicket, Pasindu Sooriyabandara chopped on a non-threatening quicker one from Ravindra Jadeja, while Niroshan Dickwella tickled one down leg to Jurel for a three-ball duck.
Even Keshara, who had done so well to hang with Dinusha, lofted an ambitious inside out drive of Suthar to mid-off.
Scores:
Sri Lanka 265 for 8 in 83.4 overs (Pasindu Sooriyabandara 80, Sonal Dinusha 85*; Prasidh Krishna 3-47, Manav Suthar 3-83) trail India 503 for 9 dec by 238 runs
[Cricinfo]
Prabath Jayasuriya has been handed an official reprimand and had a demerit point added to his disciplinary record for smacking “the boundary wedges with his bat” on his way back after being dismissed on the second day of Sri Lanka’s ongoing second Test against India in Colombo. The demerit point is Jayasuriya’s first in a 24-month period.
The offence is a breach of Level 1 of the ICC’s code of conduct for players and player support personnel, which relates to “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an international match”.
The incident took place when Jayasuriya, the nightwatcher batting at No. 3, was headed back for the pavilion after being dismissed lbw by Manav Suthar off what turned out to be the last ball of the day’s play – the broadcast also showed him throwing his gloves in the dressing room.
Jayasuriya became the third player to earn the match referee’s ire during the Colombo Test after Yashaswi Jaiswal and Asitha Fernando were pulled up for an incident on the first day. Both were fined 25% of their match fees for “inappropriate physical contact” and also had a demerit point added to their respective disciplinary records.
The incident in question, which an ICC statement described as “a confrontation”, took place after Asitha dismissed Jaiswal off the last ball of the 17th over on the first morning. Jaiswal had been on his way to the dressing room when he appeared to change direction and moved towards Asitha, presumably in response to words that came out of the celebratory Sri Lanka huddle, in which Asitha was the central figure.
“Jaiswal walked towards Fernando and the two exchanged words, following which Fernando moved his head towards Jaiswal,” the statement described. “In response, Jaiswal leant in, resulting in their heads making contact.”
Video evidence, however, showed that Jaiswal initiated the physical contact. Jaiswal had turned and walked towards Asitha, who also took a small step towards the dismissed batter. That was when Jaiswal leaned his helmeted head towards Asitha, who did not back away in that moment.
India are 1-0 up in the two-Test series after winning the first Test in Galle by 165 runs.
[Cricinfo]
Representatives of the World Food Programme (WFP) met with the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, on Monday [24 August] at Temple Trees.
During the meeting, the WFP representatives expressed their readiness to continue their partnership with the Government of Sri Lanka and reaffirmed their commitment to supporting government efforts to strengthen school nutrition programmes.
The WFP representatives noted the positive changes already taking place and expressed their interest in working closely with the Government and relevant stakeholders to further strengthen and advance nutrition interventions within the school system.
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya emphasised that nutrition remains a major concern and highlighted the importance of promoting healthier eating habits alongside strengthening primary and preventive healthcare.
She noted that the Government’s school nutrition programme is currently being implemented in targeted schools and among identified families, while nutrition interventions have also been introduced at the early childhood level.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the growing concern over non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and stressed the need to examine the underlying factors contributing to their continued prevalence.
She emphasised that the Government’s approach to school nutrition should extend beyond providing free meals to targeted communities. It should also promote healthier eating habits, improved nutritional awareness and better dietary practices across the school system as a whole.
The WFP delegation emphasised the importance of strengthening collaboration among universities, the Ministry of Education, United Nations agencies and other relevant stakeholders to improve the effectiveness and impact of nutrition-related interventions.
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya underscored the importance of research- and evidence-based decision-making, stressing that policies and programmes relating to nutrition and health should be informed by reliable evidence, research and a clear understanding of the underlying causes of nutritional challenges and NCDs.
The meeting was attended by WFP Representative and Country Director Philip Ward; Deputy Country Director and Head of Programmes Robert Oliver; Professor Jayashree Arcot, Professor of Food Science and Nutrition at the School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney; representatives of the WFP; and officials from the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
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