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Donald Trump, Jr.: My Father’s First 100 Days | Fox News

One hundred days ago, when my father stood in front of the American people and took the oath of office, an American resurgence began.

After eight years of endless talk and speeches, sluggish growth at home and weakness abroad, a sense of optimism and opportunity is taking hold. In the first one hundred days of my fathers presidency, the country is witnessing something Ive been lucky enough to experience firsthand my entire lifea man of action, who keeps his promises and gets results.

This is the good news story of my fathers administration that the mainstream news media wont report because they dont understand it. My father is not a creature of Washington and hes not going to do things the way theyve always been done. He rejects business as usual because his number one priority is to make this country great again by bringing jobs, prosperity, opportunity and security back to the United States.

The first one hundred days have restored confidence in the American economy. The stock market is up, unemployment is going down, and across the board, economic indicators are showing optimism for the future and predicting growth across sectors. My fathers focus on American jobs and manufacturing has led to major announcements from companies like GM, Boeing, Carrier, and T-Mobile, all announcing they will keep jobs here and expand employment in the U.S.

Through an aggressive push using 28 Executive Orders and the 13 Congressional Review Act bills -- a record breaking number since the CRA became law -- Obama-era regulations with a $10 billion chokehold on our economy have been wiped out, easing the burden on small businesses and opening opportunities for job growth. He acted quickly to freeze regulations, and announced that for every new regulation, two regulations would have to be removed.

My father has already signed 28 bills into law, on important issues that promote women in STEM fields, increasing government transparency, and reducing the governments massive regulatory reach. Regulations that would crush family farms, shudder power plants, and raise the cost of electricity for families have all been stopped. The Wall Street Journal has noted that as president, my father is rolling back more regulations than any president in history.

This President is taking common sense actions that benefit the American people. The appointment of the eminently qualified Justice Neil Gorsuch ensures a conservative voice on our Supreme Court, restricting judicial activism. A restored focus on the rule of law has already resulted in a substantial drop in illegal border crossings, improving the security at our borders. He is lifting the restrictions on American energy, finally approving the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline; addressing bad trade deals to make them work for Americans; and signing executive orders that takes on steel and aluminum dumping. He is working to slash taxes to jumpstart the economy, and provide relief for the millions of American families getting crushed by increasing ObamaCare premiums. The Trump Administration is working every day to take power away from big government and faceless bureaucrats in Washington and give it back to the American people.

My fathers leadership doesnt end at Americas shores. Both our allies and our enemies are remembering what American resolve looks like. We know from the last Administration, when you draw red lines and then do nothing when theyre crossed, adversaries on the global stage will fill the void, undermining the United States and our allies. Thats what leading from behind got us, but that is all over now.

As Commander in Chief, my father took decisive action against Syrian President Bashar al Assad after he turned chemical weapons against his own people. America is confronting ISIS everywhere from the caves of Afghanistan to the city of Mosul. And the United States is finally dealing with the threat of North Korea. President Trump is committed to rebuilding the U.S. military and empowering our commanders to fight our enemies and keep Americans safe.

Hard-working, middle class Americans who spent the last eight years struggling to make ends meet while Washington ignored them finally have a champion in this White House. Weve had enough of bureaucrats and Washington insiders writing laws and regulations that benefit them and their special interest buddies but put hard working Americans out of work.

The next four years--like the last one hundred days--are going to be about keeping promises to the American people. This President is going to make the government work for all of the people of this country, not just the well-connected insiders. Jobs and prosperity will return to this country, and my father will continue to lead with the strength and conviction that I have seen him live out every day in life and in business. He will never shirk from the tough calls, because he knows how to fix the problems facing this country and ensure a better, stronger more optimistic future for all of us today and for the next generation.

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Donald Trump, Jr.: My Father's First 100 Days | Fox News

Donald Trump sounds like he really misses not being president

"I loved my previous life, I loved my previous life. I had so many things going," Trump told Reuters. "I actually, this is more work than my previous life. I thought it would be easier."

Then, later: "I do miss my old life. This -- I like to work. But this is actually more work."

That sentiment is, in a word, strange. For a few reasons.

It's absolutely true that all presidents express -- privately and then, eventually, publicly -- some level of longing for the life they left behind or the life they will return to. But that usually happens after, say, seven or eight years in the White House. Not after 99 days.

The truth is -- and even Donald Trump might admit this in his most candid moments -- that he had almost zero idea of what being president would entail when he started running for the office almost two years ago now.

When he entered the race in June 2015, there was no reasonable expectation that he would even sniff the top tier of the Republican field. He was seen as a curiosity, a celebrity calling everyone's bluff who said he never could, should or would run.

Throughout the campaign -- even as he improbably rose to the top of the GOP field and stayed there -- Trump would always tell his crowds that being president would be easy, and that he would solve the problems of the country so quickly they wouldn't believe it.

"Together we're going to deliver real change that once again puts Americans first," Trump promised a Florida audience last October. "You're going to have such great health care, at a tiny fraction of the costand it's going to be so easy."

(Nota bene: Republican attempts to even hold a vote on legislation that would reform and replace the Affordable Care Act died Thursday night. For the second time in as many months.)

It's, of course, true that no president is ever, really, ready for the job when they come into office. But Trump's understanding of the office -- and of the political process was minuscule. He had never run for or served in any elected office. (Say what you will about the relative inexperience of George W. Bush and Barack Obama before ascending to the presidency but they had been elected and served as governor and senator, respectively.) Trump's experience in politics, by contrast, amounted to giving money when someone asked him to. And that's about it.

Which is how someone who has been president for the last 99 days can repeatedly express amazement that the job is hard -- far harder than he expected -- and wax nostalgic about his old life.

Trump's old life was, without question, easier than his current one. He starred in a reality TV show. He was the brand manager of a company built around his ostentatious personality. He did, basically, what he wanted to do when he wanted to do it.

Now his life is totally and completely proscribed. He has very little agency in all of it. He goes where he is told when he is told. And much of what Trump does on a daily basis is a radical departure from the "being Donald Trump" role that he had been playing for decades prior to winning the White House. He has to confront problems -- the Middle East, North Korea, healthcare -- in which he can't just snap his fingers, make a decision and move on. Nothing -- or almost nothing-- is black and white. It's all shades of gray. It's, um, hard.

Given all of that, it's easy to see why Trump might pine for the simpler life he led prior to being elected president. It's just very, very odd he decided to say that publicly less than 100 days into his administration.

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Donald Trump sounds like he really misses not being president

Donald Trump warns of a ‘major, major conflict’ with North …

Donald Trump has said that a major conflict is possible with North Korea though he would prefer to solve the standoff over the countrys nuclear and missile programmes through diplomacy.

Trumps warning on Thursday came towards the end of a week where the administration has made a concerted effort to restrain Pyongyang from carrying out major new weapons tests.

At the same time, US officials sought to clarify US policy after a variety of mixed signals in the administrations first 100 days.

Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, said that the US would be prepared to enter into direct talks with the regime of Kim Jong-un, but that it would have to prepare to negotiate getting rid of all its nuclear weapons.

The opening to diplomacy came as the head of the US Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris told the Senate that the standoff with North Korea was the worst he had seen. It was an assessment echoed by the president.

There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely, Trump told Reuters.

Wed love to solve things diplomatically but its very difficult, the president added.

Trump suggested there had been a breakthrough in Chinese readiness to help apply pressure on Kim since Xi Jinping visited the US president in Florida earlier this month.

I believe he [the Chinese president] is trying very hard. He certainly doesnt want to see turmoil and death. He doesnt want to see it. He is a good man. He is a very good man and I got to know him very well, Trump said.

With that being said, he loves China and he loves the people of China. I know he would like to be able to do something, perhaps its possible that he cant.

Tillerson had earlier said the Chinese had warned Pyongyang, an increasingly unruly client in recent years, that it would impose punitive measures if North Korea carried out provocative tests.

We know that China is in communications with the regime in Pyongyang, he told Fox News. They confirmed to us that they had requested the regime conduct no further nuclear test.

According to Tillerson, the Chinese told the regime that if they did conduct further nuclear tests, China would be taking sanctions actions on their own.

China refused to confirm or deny the US claim of new pressure. A foreign ministry spokesman reiterated Chinas support for UN sanctions on the North, but repeatedly avoided giving a direct answer when asked at a daily press briefing about what other plans China might be considering.

The US secretary of state said that the North Korean regime viewed its nuclear weapons and missile programmes as a guarantee of survival, and that the Trump administration sought to change that mindset.

We want to change that calculus of theirs and we have said to them: your pathway to survival and security is to eliminate your nuclear weapons and we and other countries will help you on the way to economic development, Tillerson said. He assured Pyongyang that the US objective was ridding the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons, not toppling Kim Jong-un.

We do not seek a regime change in North Korea. We are not seeking the collapse of the regime.

Tillerson said that the US administration would wait as long as it takes for talks to start providing North Korea conducted no new nuclear or intercontinental ballistic missile tests.

The secretary of state did not directly reply to a question on whether this policy was very similar to the strategic patience pursued by the Obama administration, which Tillerson had earlier said had come to an end.

In his Oval Office interview with Reuters, Trump offered an assessment of Kim.

Asked if he considered the North Korean leader to be rational he noted that Kim had taken over his country at an early age.

Hes 27 years old. His father dies, took over a regime. So say what you want but that is not easy, especially at that age, he said.

Im not giving him credit or not giving him credit, Im just saying thats a very hard thing to do. As to whether or not hes rational, I have no opinion on it. I hope hes rational, he said.

Meanwhile, in a sign that North Koreas regional neighbours are taking the threat of a conflict seriously, Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull warned that Pyongyang could launch a nuclear attack on nations and claimed China has not applied enough pressure on the regime.

There is the possibility and the risk that North Korea could launch an attack on its neighbours, Turnbull said on 3AW radio.

That is the reason why there is so much effort being put into seeking to stop this reckless and dangerous conduct by the North Korean regime. They are a real threat to the peace and stability in the region and to the whole world.

Turnbull said while North Korea was often a subject of satire, the country had nuclear weapons and regularly threatened to use them.

Their threats can appear sometimes to be theatrical and over the top and they have been the subject of satire but I can assure you that my government takes ... the threat of North Korea very seriously, he said.

On Friday morning Tillerson will chair a special ministerial session of the UN security council on North Korea, aimed at convincing other members to impose existing sanctions on Pyongyang more rigorously.

In Washington, the head of the Arms Control Association, Daryl Kimball, welcomed the Trump administrations readiness for direct talks with North Korea.

There are some new things here. They are making clear that regime change is not the goal. There is a recognition that North Korea has security concerns, Kimball said. I think what we hearing the evening is more of the engagement part of the maximum pressure engagement policy that they are slowly rolling out.

He added: Its going to require persistence and patience.

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Howard Stern was 100% right about Donald Trump – Apr. 28, 2017

Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview this week that he misses the days before he was president.

"I loved my previous life. I had so many things going," he said. "This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier."

12 days into Trump's presidency, Stern, the radio shock jock and Trump's longtime friend, publicly predicted this moment. During the Feb. 1 broadcast of his show, Stern said he'd told Trump early on that the presidency wouldn't be good for him.

"I really was sincere, I said, 'Why would you want to be the president of the United States? You're not going to be beloved, it's going to be a f*cking nightmare in your life," Stern recalled telling Trump in audio first flagged by CNN's KFile.

"He stepped into a situation that's really not a win for him," he added. "He's a 70 year-old guy, he's got a great life, gorgeous wife, great kids, he's got helicopters, airplanes, all the accoutrements of the great life... so now to step into this f*cking mess, and for what? There are people who are better suited for this kind of thing.

"He didn't need this in his life."

The two men know each other fairly well. Trump was a frequent guest on Stern's radio program for years, and even attended Stern's 2008 wedding.

In the February broadcast, Stern -- who supported Hillary Clinton over Trump -- noted that he still considers Trump a friend, but said that he hadn't heard from him as much as the campaign progressed.

Stern said he believed the presidency wouldn't be a "healthy experience for Trump."

"I know something about Donald Trump, he really does want to be loved," Stern said. "He does want people to really love him. That drives him a lot. I think that he has a very sensitive ego and when you're president of the United States, people are going to be very very critical."

CNNMoney (New York) First published April 28, 2017: 2:02 PM ET

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Howard Stern was 100% right about Donald Trump - Apr. 28, 2017

Donald Trump invites Rodrigo Duterte to Washington

Trump and Duterte seem to have a mutual admiration. Composite: STRINGER, Dondi Tawatao/Reuters, Getty Images

US president Donald Trump has invited Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte to the White House during a phone call that also addressed concerns over North Korea, the White House said in a statement.

The White House gave no details of when the leaders would meet in Washington to discuss their alliance, but said Trump looked forward to visiting the Philippines in November as part of two summits with other Asian nations.

A readout of the call on Saturday said the discussion between the two was very friendly and the US-Philippines alliance was now heading in a very positive direction.

The pair talked about the concerns of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) regarding regional security, including the threat posed by North Korea.

The phone call also touched on Dutertes war on drugs, in which some 7,000 people have died at the hands of vigilantes and state sanctioned death squads. Trump has previously praised the drug war.

They also discussed the fact that the Philippine government is fighting very hard to rid its country of drugs, a scourge that affects many countries throughout the world, the readout said.

President Trump enjoyed the conversation and said that he is looking forward to visiting the Philippines in November to participate in the east Asia summit and the US-Asean summit. President Trump also invited President Duterte to the White House to discuss the importance of the the United States-Philippines alliance.

Last week a Filipino lawyer filed a complaint at the international criminal court (ICC) accusing Duterte and 11 other Philippine officials of mass murder and crimes against humanity.

In the 77-page complaint Jude Sabio says the president has repeatedly, unchangingly and continuously committed extra-judicial executions or mass murders over three decades, amounting to crimes against humanity.

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Donald Trump invites Rodrigo Duterte to Washington