Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you so much for coming. This is our second official influencer briefing here at the White House in the beautiful South Court Auditorium. And as you can tell, in the White House, we are fully embracing new media. Trust in the mass media has fallen to record lows. Tens of millions of Americans are turning elsewhere to get their news and their information.
That's why we've welcomed in, openly, independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers, content creators and we will continue to do so. President Trump and our White House also believe strongly in the First Amendment, which is why our team has restored the press passes of hundreds of journalists whose passes were wrongly revoked by the Biden administration.
So, thank you all so much for coming today, for your interest in covering the historic achievements of President Trump's first 100 days. And today officially marks 100 days of promises made and kept by President Trump. Our primary focus is how President Trump is in the process of rebuilding the world's greatest economy just like he did in his first term.
President Trump has created 345,000 jobs since taking office in January. Last month's job report, we saw 100,000 more jobs than economists predicted. It was the fourth highest month for private payroll growth in the past two years. 9,000 manufacturing jobs have been created and added to the economy already since January, and that's in comparison to the 6,000 manufacturing jobs that were lost per month in the final two years of the Biden administration.
So, each month we were losing 6,000 manufacturing jobs; under President Trump, in just 100 days, we've added 9,000. The US unemployment rate remains at historic lows. The labor force participation rate for those without a high school diploma is up, good news for working class American families. And the veteran unemployment rate is down as well to 3.8 percent in March; when we came into office, it was 4.2 percent.
Remote work among federal employees has fallen over 16 percentage points from March last year to March this year, showcasing the success of President Trump's initiative to bring federal workers back to the office. We know middle class Americans, hard-working people, they have to show up to the office every day.
We expect bureaucrats and government workers to do the same, especially when they are living off of the taxpayers' dime. If you want to work on behalf of the American taxpayer, you should show up to work in person. Thanks to President Trump Americans are seeing the first price relief in years. The last inflation report showed the first consumer price decline in years, a decrease in energy prices and real average hourly wage growth.
President Trump is delivering on his promises to lower costs for American families and businesses. Prescription drug prices are down. Last month's drop in prescription drug prices was the largest ever recorded. And thanks to President Trump ending Joe Biden's reckless war on American energy, gasoline prices and energy prices are down as well.
The cost of wholesale eggs has decreased more than 50 percent. President Trump inherited a complete mess from the Biden administration who totally botched their response to the bird flu. They were killing chickens. They were killing our chicken supply in this country, which led to an increase in egg prices.
And the president and Secretary Rollins did an incredible job attacking that on day one. On the deregulation front, President Trump is launching the largest deregulation campaign in American history. He has blocked all of the unfinalized Biden era rules, which has saved us more than $180 billion already.
He's launched a bold multi-agency effort to roll back existing federal regulations that drive up the cost of living on hardworking families. That has yielded more than $7,755 billion in total savings as well. And as you all know, investments from companies around the world continue to pour into this country.
Every morning, we wake up to a new headline with a new company from a different country announcing major investments in our country. What does that mean for people in your communities across the nation? It means jobs, it means Americans going to work, it means Americans providing for their families, for their children, living the American dream.
That's what those investments will do. It's truly the golden age of America. And that's why the president is working so hard to leverage good trade deals around the world. He knows America is the best place in the world to do business. He is using our leverage to negotiate good deals with countries around the world to onshore manufacturing jobs here, to revitalize our middle class and our manufacturing industry, and also to protect our national security.
I don't think any American agrees it's good that China currently supplies and produces our chips, our pharmaceuticals and our critical industries. We want the united -- those things built in the United States of America and President Trump is the first president in modern times to actually do something about that.
So, with that said, today is 100 days. There have been so many achievements not just on the economic front, and the president continues to work very hard on tax cuts as well and on negotiating those trade deals. But look at the success at the southern border, which we talked a lot about yesterday with our border czar, Tom Homan, Secretary Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller here at the White House, all of whom are doing a tremendous job and have created, at the president's direction, the most secure border in American history.
We have a mass deportation campaign of illegal aliens underway. We are removing heinous criminals from your communities across the country every single day. We are making America safe again. And if you look abroad on the world stage, the president is really using his peace through strength foreign policy approach once again.
The rest of the world knows that America is back. I know Joe Biden used to say that, but we're stealing it from him because it's actually true now with President Trump in the Oval Office. The world is a safer place and will continue to be. So, thanks for coming to the influencer briefing. I look forward to taking your questions.
And Deborah, why don't you kick us off?
So, congratulations on 100 incredible days. And over the first 100 days, the majority of policies that we've seen from the Trump administration have been either targeted at foreign affairs, such as bringing the American hostages home, or attempting to end the war between Ukraine and Russia, or on long-term goals such as cutting government spending with DOGE. What policies can we expect to see rolled out over the next few months that Americans will directly feel the effects of in order to secure the 2026 midterms for the republican party and keep his approval rating historically high?
Yeah, the first answer that comes to mind, Deborah, is definitely tax cuts. The president is working closely with congress as we speak. He met with leadership from both chambers. The administration met with leadership from both chambers yesterday to talk about how we can quickly pass the largest tax cuts in American history.
And the president promised on the campaign trail, he wanted no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security for our hardworking seniors, no tax on overtime pay. He intends to keep those promises, and he needs congress' help to do so, that's why he's working closely with them. But you look at -- again, I talked about the leverage the president uses to negotiate good trade deals around the world, but he uses that leverage right here in Washington as well on Capitol Hill.
He has great relationships with leaders on both chambers and we are confident that we can pass a massive tax bill which will directly lead to more money in people's pockets right away. Sure, go ahead.
Yeah, so the president has really wanted to end the war in Ukraine for a long time now and has been working on that. In the first 100 days, we've seen President Zelenskyy come here, as well as the president meeting with President Zelenskyy just in the last couple of days. I'm wondering where those talks stand and if the president is optimistic that that conflict is going to wrap up shortly.
The president is optimistic yet realistic about the incredibly complicated and unfortunate situation happening with Ukraine and Russia. First of all, this is Biden's war. It would have never started if President Trump were in office. There is a reason that Putin did not invade Ukraine when President Trump was in the Oval Office.
And it's because, again, President Trump leveraged the power of the United States to warn Putin not to do it. And the president has spoken about that in those direct warnings to the Kremlin that he gave in his first term. Then we had a mentally incompetent president in Joe Biden who didn't even know what day it is never mind knew how to prevent war.
And the entire world took advantage of that and took advantage of America's lackluster leadership abroad. And so, we've had this terrible war. The president talks about it all the time. He's briefed on it constantly. There are men dying on the front lines of this, an entire generation is being wiped out and enough is enough.
The president has made it very clear he wants to see this end at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield. He has spoken directly to both sides of this war. He most recently met with President Zelenskyy at the Vatican when he attended the funeral of Pope Francis. And he remains optimistic that both sides will come together to negotiate peace.
There are a lot of complexities on both sides of this war, but -- and so, he's realistic about that. But he is optimistic that we are moving in the right direction. And if you just take a step back and look at where we are now, where you have concessions from both sides publicly, where you have ceasefire proposals from both sides.
The president has made it clear he wants a permanent ceasefire first. But you actually have the United States talking to Russia. You have the United States talking to the Ukrainians on a daily basis, communicating with both sides. Look at that compared to where we were when we came into office, where neither side was talking.
There was just one approach to ending this war. No one was really talking about a peace deal. We were just talking about continuing to send blank checks to continue funding the fighting and the killing. This war has been a meat grinder, young men are dying, women and children are dying as a collateral result of the military conflict.
And the president wants to see it end as quickly and as soon as possible. And I can tell you watching firsthand, he has exuded a tremendous amount of effort into this war. He's getting frustrated with the amount of effort this has taken, and he's made that clear to both sides, but he remains optimistic that we can get this done.
Brendan?
I was wondering if you'd indulge me in a quick round of Trump trolling or Trump truthing.
Sure, let's do it. I love it.
OK, good. Rapid fire. Greenland joining America.
Definitely Trump truthing.
Canada becoming a 51st state.
Trump truthing all the way, and the Canadians would benefit greatly, let me tell you that.
Eliminating the IRS?
I think that is an optimistic goal and the president -- so I would say we're on the side of truthing there for sure. And the president again wants to see tax cuts and he wants to see this massive revenue that we can gain from tariffs as well, which will create the external revenue service. So, that's a definitive goal for sure.
And most importantly, Trump 2028 [Laughter].
Trump trolling, although the hats are flying off the shelves. Yes. Link, go ahead.
So, one thing I've noticed in the first 100 days is that the White House is crawling with kids. You have a young, beautiful baby boy, there are babies everywhere. There are so many young folks on staff who have kids. But the last four years under Joe Biden, parents were really stressed and ravaged; they had to take on two or three extra jobs.
Depression rates were up, suicide rates were up. You're a very high profile, young mother who seems to juggle and balance it all beautifully. What advice do you have to young parents out there who are starting their careers, having kids, building families and trying to find that balance so desperately?
Yeah, well, it's a great question. And first to the heart of your premise -- it's true, the president has empowered not just me as a young mother in this role, but there are so many new moms and dads on our senior staff in the West Wing, but also across the entire administration. There are working moms and dads who are owing our country public service for President Trump while raising young families.
And the president really empowers us to do that, and I commend him for that. He doesn't get enough credit for it. But as for -- the president is implementing policies every day to uplift young families and young people. He talks so much about young people and talked directly to young people so much on the campaign trail.
It really, I think, inspires him when he is around young people and a young audience. And he wants to restore the American dream for the next generation, not just our generation of young folks, but our children and our grandchildren. What does that look like? Homeownership, the ability to afford a home, to live -- to have a good paying job.
That's part of this effort to onshore jobs because you have an entire generation going to these incredibly expensive and liberal higher education universities coming out saddled with debt and then unable to get a good paying job. The president wants to put an end to that so that young people can provide for their families and truly live the American dream.
So, to young people around the country, the president hears you, he sees you, he loves you and he wants to uplift you. And all of the policies he is implementing every day are to provide a more prosperous and safe and free America for future generations. You're welcome. Sure. Hi, you too.
Thanks, Karoline, so much for the time. Tag teaming off of Link's question about young people, one of the most pressing challenges for Gen Z right now is the lack of home ownership. As of 2025, I believe the median age is 38 years old of first-time home buyers, which is a hindrance to starting families for a lot of people.
How does the Trump administration plan on tackling this in the next four years?
It's a major issue, as you mentioned, that's directly impacting young people and young families. And the president is, I think, tackling it head on already. The reason that homes have become so unaffordable is because of the massive inflation crisis caused by the previous administration, not just the cost of a home, but everything that goes into building a new home went up and through the roof, right?
We also saw mortgage rates reach incredible highs under the previous administration. So, a few things. The president wants to bring down the cost of living, which he is already doing, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, which will increase our supply of homes across the country. But he also wants to bring down mortgage rates and interest rates to make it easier for young people and all people to borrow money, to take out those loans, to buy your first home.
And so, we've got to increase the supply, bring down costs and bring down interest rates and mortgage rates. And by the way, those are all things the president successfully did in his first term. When he left office inflation was a record low 1.4 percent. Interest rates, mortgage rates also hit record lows in his first term.
So, this is a proven economic formula that works. It takes time to get there. We are in the process of the golden age. The president and the admin are slashing regulation every day, cutting red tape, cutting costs, and we need, again, congress to pass those tax cuts to put more money back in people's pockets, so they have greater purchasing power as well.
You're welcome. Sure.
[Inaudible] with Independent Women and WMAL.
Oh, great.
We love working with the administration to really tout policies that work for families and work for small businesses in this country. Next week is Small Business Week and I know that the SBA will be championing all the small businesses, the millions in this country, almost half of which are women owned. But I'd love to find out what the president feels about independent contractors who are not typical W-2 employees, not 9 to 5 workers, but who hang their own shingle, they're 1099 workers.
We saw the Biden administration really try to crack down on that small business entrepreneurial spirit. And we're hopeful that the administration would overturn what the Biden administration did and maybe even work with congress to pass some lasting changes, codify some lasting changes that would protect your ability to be self-employed, your ability to be a small business owner.
Well, the president is a businessman at heart himself, right. He's a real estate developer and I think that's a large reason the American people elected him the first time and the second time, because they trust in him. And small businesses are the backbone of our American economy. I come from a small business family myself and the president knows what small business families need and independent contractors need, entrepreneurs need -- you need less government in the way, you need less regulation.
You need low energy costs, low taxes, a low cost of living, a low cost of goods. And that's exactly what the president is focused on doing, while simultaneously effectively leveraging tariffs to protect our middle class and our working class and our manufacturing base. Look at our auto industry, think about Michigan, it used to be the heartland of the auto industry of the world.
It was the auto capital of the world. And unfortunately, so many of those jobs have gone overseas. And so, the president wants to protect good paying jobs here at home and unleash the might of our economy for small business owners. And that removes -- that includes removing red tape and cutting taxes. And as for independent contractors and what the president would hope to do with congress, we'll definitely check back in on that and get you an answer because it's an important question.
You're welcome. Sure.
Will Upton, the National Pulse. You kind of gave us an overview of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, 100 days in. What would the next steps look like though if we don't reach an agreement by, say, the summer? And also, can you give us an update on the rare earth minerals deal with Ukraine? And is there any kind of response from the administration to Greenlandic Foreign Minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, some of her comments about maybe seeking aid with China.
Sure, to your first question about the critical minerals deal, the president is confident that will be signed. Ukraine needs to sign it; they should sign it. It's not just good for the United States to recoup the billions of tax dollars we've spent and onshore some of those critical minerals, but certainly it's good for the Ukrainian people when this war is over to rebuild their country.
It's an economic partnership between the United States and Ukraine. That's what the president envisions, and he wants Ukraine to sign that deal. He's confident that they will. As for what it would look like later down the road, I don't want to get ahead of the president, obviously. But again, I will reiterate he's increasingly grown frustrated at the amount of time.
Our secretary of state recently said there's not much more time or effort the United States has to give to this effort. And so, we need both sides to come to the table to negotiate. As for Greenland, it's -- I hadn't seen those comments. If true, I'm sure they are -- certainly an interesting strategy to cozy up to communist China.
Greenland needs the United States of America. We subsidize their national security and their defense. And the president has rightfully pointed out the great strategic importance that Greenland serves for not just our national security and economic interests, but for our country and for the world as a whole.
And we can't allow Chinese or Russian influence to continue to infiltrate places like Greenland or the Panama Canal, I may add. To the back.
Can you talk about the importance of a stock market all-time high, specifically in relation to the midterms? And seems like a lot of folks, when Trump was elected, they thought that the stock market goes up. He really cares about that. He uses it as a measurement of the economy. It's gone down, but it's still up over the last 12 months or so. So, how much of that is playing into some of the economic policy decisions?
I think the president has spoken on this, he said the stock market gets yippy, but he doesn't get yippy. He trusts in his economic agenda and formula, obviously. And Wall Street made out very well in President Trump's first term. President Trump also wants to look out for Main Street and do what's best for both.
So, I think the president right now, his main focus, what drives him to make decisions is what's best for the working-class Americans, for the American worker, for the small business owner, for American families. And he's trying to correct the wrongs of the last several decades, not just the last four years with the economic and inflation nightmare caused by the Biden administration, but of the unfair trade practices that have ripped off our country for a very long time.
So, look, the stock market goes up, it goes down, but President Trump has a goal, he has a vision and he's remaining very much committed to that. Thank you so much, everybody, for joining today. We're heading off to Michigan tonight for a big rally. So, I'm sure we'll see all of your amazing creative content on social media later.
It's going to be a great speech and maybe you'll get a Trump dance too. So, thank you so much for coming today. It's a pleasure to have you here. Thank you.