Trump returning to Michigan to mark 100 days. About that ‘miracle’ you promised…

• President Donald Trump is returning to Macomb County this week to mark 100 days of his second term in office
• Trump has acted on many campaign trail promises, including enacting tariffs, boosting deportations and rolling back regulations
• Critics continue to challenge many of his actions in court, and some warn Trump’s actions risk tanking the US economy

Michigan has long been a fertile ground for President Donald Trump, where he frequently campaigned on bold promises to address economic and cultural fears.

This week, Trump is choosing Macomb County as the backdrop to mark the 100th day of his second term. He’s set to take the stage at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Macomb Community College in Warren. Doors open to the public at 1:45 p.m. 

Trump’s campaign billed Tuesday’s speech as “a celebration of the most successful and monumental First 100 Days of any Administration in history,” citing actions he’s taken to ramp up deportations, lower inflation and dramatically reduce federal spending. 

The planned speech marks the Republican president’s first appearance in Michigan since he vowed to work with Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to expand operations at Macomb County’s Selfridge Air National Guard Base and fight Asian carp in the Great Lakes. 

Bridge Michigan this year is tracking 100 specific promises Trump made to Michigan residents on the campaign trail last fall. 

Three months in, Trump has taken at least some action on many of his promises — but he’s also facing legal scrutiny for his unprecedented use of executive power, and the impact on Michigan so far is at best mixed or unclear. 

Here’s a refresher on what he promised, what actions he’s taken in the last 100 days and what it’s meant for Michigan. 

Inflation down, economy uncertain

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to roll back inflation “on Day 1” and raise tariffs to drive job growth in Michigan.

Since he became president, unemployment has risen in Michigan, inflation has eased slightly, his on-again-off-again tariffs have roiled the auto industry and sent the stock market on a roller-coaster. 

The economy, cited by voters as the top issue last year, remains precarious, with gas prices falling but the cost of eggs hitting a record high, $6.22 a dozen, in March.

Trump has signed numerous executive orders designed to bolster the economy, though he’s backed off claims that prices will fall quickly, saying it’ll take time to tackle inflation and that a recession is both possible and could be worth the cost.

Since the election, consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level since the coronavirus pandemic, and inflation fears are at the highest levels since 1981. In March, Michigan’s unemployment rate was the second-highest in the nation (behind Nevada’s 5.7%) at 5.5%, well above the national rate of 4.2%.

Trump has levied tariffs on imported cars and vehicle parts, along with steel and aluminum. He’s also levied new import taxes on products from countries around the world. 

He’s paused “reciprocal” tariffs in some cases but raised them even higher on China. Goods from Mexico and Canada now face a 25% tariff; Europe has a 10% tariff — and China was hit with a 145% tariff.

RELATED: 

• Fact check: Is Donald Trump keeping his promises to Michigan voters?
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• 100 promises Donald Trump made to Michigan

The tariffs only recently took effect, meaning it’s too early to gauge long-term impact. But GM has started shifting production to some US-based plants, and other automakers expanded employee-discount programs to all customers to lower prices. Some automakers halted production, including Chrysler minivans built in Windsor, and Stellantis ordered temporary layoffs in Macomb County. 

Deportations up, not as high as predicted

Trump promised his administration would quickly begin deporting millions of migrants who entered the country illegally. 

Initial sweeps around the country have targeted those believed to be criminals in the country illegally, though those efforts have expanded to include international students and pro-Palestinian student protesters.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has arrested nearly as many people during the first three months of the Trump administration as were arrested in the entire 2024 fiscal year, is detaining more of them in jail and is releasing fewer, ICE statistics show. 

Overall deportations are nowhere near the level the administration predicted — the Washington Post reported a 2025 goal of 1 million. March deportations were actually below how many were deported in March 2024. 

The US military is now assisting with border security.The number of people attempting to cross the border is at the lowest level in decades.

In Michigan, the US Customs and Border Protection is reporting the biggest increase in undocumented immigrant arrests “in recent memory” but has not specified exact numbers. 

In Detroit, federal prosecutors had charged 46 people with immigration-related criminal charges in January, February and part of March, according to The Detroit News; in all of 2024 they had arrested 70.

Slow start to Biden-era EV, energy reversals

Trump said he’d end electric vehicle “mandates” on day one of his term, claiming it would save the “Michigan auto industry from extinction.” He also vowed to cut the $7,500 subsidy for buyers of EVs and dramatically expand production of fossil fuels — including coal, oil and natural gas — to make energy cheaper.

On his first day in office, Trump rescinded a Biden order that had established a national goal for 50% of all cars in the US to be zero-emissions by 2030, and he directed the Environmental Protection Agency to roll back the mileage targets for US car fleets that he said were a mandate for EVs.

Trump also froze a Biden-era program to build a national network of EV charging stations, including $110 million for Michigan. The administration has expanded where companies can drill and removed Biden-era environmental protections in effort to increase energy production.

Trump's order did not directly revoke Biden-era emissions and mileage standards, which will likely be lengthy processes. He has not ended EV consumer subsidies, though lawmakers are considering it.

EV sales declined slightly in February but were up 10% from the prior year. It will take months or longer to see how Detroit automakers fare in coming years as they navigate existing and potential tariffs.

Trump has also sought to claw back unspent funding from Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, leaving between $30 million and $77.2 million in climate and environmental projects in Michigan in limbo, along with nearly $60 million for rehabbing homes and making others more energy efficient.

No tax cuts yet, wars continue

In Michigan speeches, Trump promised “major tax cuts” including tax-free tips and overtime pay, an end to taxes on Social Security benefits and tax benefits on car loan interest, newborn expense and corporate investment.

But this promise requires help from Congress. Congressional Republicans are currently crafting a bill that would implement many of the cuts, which Trump continues to champion. 

But the massive tax changes face challenges because the total cost — trillions over a decade — could put the bill afoul of limits on how much the bills add to the federal deficit over a decade. And some Republicans in a slim-majority Congress balked before narrowly approving the legislation at an early stage of the process.

Trump also promised in various Michigan campaign stops to end the war in Ukraine and bring peace to the Middle East. Both wars have continued.

Though the US pushed for a 30-day ceasefire, Ukraine and Russia agreed on a more limited break in fighting. Attacks are still occurring, including a Russian missile launch in mid-April. 

In the Middle East, a temporary ceasefire reached days before Biden left office expired March 18. Israel resumed attacks in Gaza, and negotiations are continuing to free all of the hostages taken by Hamas during its 2023 terror attack that prompted the war.

Threatened cuts over DEI, trans athletes impact Michigan schools

Trump said during a Novi rally before his election that his administration would “get critical race theory and transgender insanity the hell out of our school. And we will keep men out of women's sports right away, Day 1.”

The administration has used its power of the purse to threaten universities over diversity programs, cutting funding because some research focused on “diversity.”

Every school, from K-12 to colleges and universities, got a letter in February saying federal funding was in jeopardy if race was considered in any aspect of education.

Trump has also ordered that schools ban transgender women from participating in female sports, reversing a Biden-era rule that prevented sex-based discrimination in schools that received federal funding. 

Two Michigan schools, among over 50 nationwide, are also targets of new investigations: Grand Valley State University for “impermissible race-based scholarships and race-based segregation” and the University of Michigan for “race-exclusionary” practices in graduate education.

The University of Michigan dropped its DEI programs, though that didn’t forestall other cuts. The NCAA quickly limited participation to athletes in sports of the gender assigned at birth. The Michigan High School Athletic Association has not altered its policy allowing transgender participation, though it affects just two of an estimated 175,000 athletes in the state.

In Michigan, K-12 school leaders have been left trying to determine what programs, policies or activities may violate the new ban on DEI. State Superintendent Michael Rice has not complied with a demand to certify compliance.

Free IVF? Not yet

Trump has pushed for expanded access to in-vitro fertilization, promising during a Potterville stop last summer that he’d support covering the costly procedure through insurance or a government-backed program.

In February, Trump signed an executive order calling for dramatically lowered costs for IVF treatment. The order directed his administration to suggest policies to make it happen.

Costs were not lowered immediately. Instead, Trump called for proposals to reduce costs within three months. The New York Times reports the Trump administration is eyeing several policy platforms aimed at boosting the nation’s birthrate.