President Heads to Kenosha, Wisconsin; Trump's 100-day Agenda; Dems Look to Steal House Seat in GA Special Election.
KING: Welcome back to Inside Politics. Pictures here, the president of the United States getting aboard Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews just outside of Washington, D.C. He is on his way to Wisconsin, one of the big blue states he turned red last November that propelled Donald Trump to the presidency. Mr. Trump returning this afternoon to blue-collar Kenosha to say thank you and to sign an executive order aimed at delivering on his "Buy American, Hire American" campaign promise. All on track is the case you'll hear from the president later this afternoon. But a little more than a week from the 100-day mark, President again turning to an executive action there in Wisconsin because not one major Trump initiative has passed the Congress. ObamaCare repeal failed miserably. Tax reform and infrastructure still on the drawing board. And like climate change, subject to big internal administration fights. Even a down payment on the promised border wall is in doubt as Congress scrambles when it returns next week to pass a spending bill to keep the government running. That lack of legislative process beginning to take an early toll on the president's already tenuous political standing. Look at this, just 45 percent of Americans now view this president as a man keeping his promises. That's a giant 17- point drop from two months ago. With me today to share their reporting and their insights, Nia-Malika Henderson of CNN, Dan Balz of the Washington Post, John Yang of the PBS NewsHour, and the Washington Post's Ashley Parker. What do we make of this? The president getting out of the road. It's an important (inaudible), 12 days from a 100 days. More executive actions though Dan. He cannot say we repealed and replaced ObamaCare. He cannot say we passed the Trump infrastructure plan. If you look back at the Obama presidency, the George W. Bush presidency, the Bill Clinton presidency, all had at least one marked key legislative achievement in the first 100 days. This president it looks like unless he pulls a rabbit out of a hat will have none.</s>DAN BALZ, THE WASHINGTON POST: Yes and it's -- you know, it's the most significant failure of the first 100 days that he has to recognize. I mean, through the executive actions, and they are limited in what they can do and they take time as he's found out with the border -- with the travel ban, you can point a direction. And he's clearly tried to do that. He's done on foreign policy in the last few weeks. He's done it on others. But in terms of a big legislative agenda, he has been, he has been -- he's come up short on that. And he's going to have to reckon with how he turns that around in the second 100 days.</s>KING: And how does he deal with the challenge that any president has to deal with. You're trying to balance your agenda, deal with different challenges. He won Wisconsin, he won Michigan and he won Pennsylvania in part because he promised he was going to be tough on trade. It was China he reeled on it all of those states including in Wisconsin where he will be today. But now the president says, listen, China is helping me with North Korea. This is no time to start a trade war.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I didn't soften my stance. Look, China came to the United States, the president who is I really developed a very good relationship with. I think he's a terrific person. He understands it's a big problem. He's working on it. Now, what am I going to do? Start a trade war with China in the middle of him working on a bigger problem frankly with North Korea? And so I'm dealing with China with great respect.</s>KING: Will the blue-collar voters who made him president, who maybe had traditionally voted Democratic who decided to vote Republican, will they give him that grace? (Inaudible) OK, he's got a big real problem so I have to wait.</s>ASHLEY PARKER, THE WASHINGTON POST: It's an interesting question. You saw in that interview, you also saw him in a tweet say much the same thing. You know, on the one hand he's being very honest sort of openly admitting he was using currency manipulation in China, on trade policy as a bargaining chip with North Korea. On the other hand, I think it fixes some of the authenticity and honesty that voters appreciate in the sense that they're willing to let him make a deal. On the other hand, I think he does need to keep his promises and especially on an issue like trade. This is a promise that involves other countries, but has felt acutely at home in people's pockets. And at the end of the day that is always what people end up voting on. Whether they turn on him or a bit if he doesn't deliver, I think that's a risk.</s>JOHN YANG, PBS NEWSHOUR: And you see that partly today, what they're doing today with the executive order, trying to turn to things the blue-collar workers would appeal to blue-collar workers. But if you scratch the surface of this executive order and a lot of others, there's not much there, there. Today's executive order on buy American is something that could be accomplished with a phone call to the commerce secretary. But they've chosen this sort of symbolic action of signing an executive order because it looks like something's happening. It looks like action is being taken.</s>KING: And it's essentially another study. Look around the government, find out why agencies sometimes use loopholes to buy other products. Report back to the commerce secretary as you know. That's -- again that's how government works sometimes, but it is not what Donald Trump the candidate promised when he said I'm going to go to Washington and I'm going to change it.</s>NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes. I mean, it's not during the swamp, it's not big and bold. It's not immediate action in the way that Bannon talked about as well, that they would come to town immediately and shake things up. I think it's very much a surprise. I mean, if you look at sort of the after hours of that election where Hillary Clinton loses, huge upset, there was so much thinking in terms of what this Trump administration would do. He would have the Congress, both Houses, and you thought -- I think we all thought there would be sort of immediate things that happened and some successes. But you look at what congress -- how it's made up, only 52 edge for Republicans in the Senate and sort of a feuding fractions of the Republican Party in the House. It's not going to get any easier. I think in some ways he is obviously talking to his base. They do see these actions and sort of motions, but not a lot of movement on this.</s>KING: And if you look historically, we could show you some few numbers of presidential approval rating at this point in their first 100 days. Donald Trump at 39 percent approval rating right now. Just look at the chart whether you're looking at Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, all of them significantly higher than this president. And one of the interesting things is will they do ObamaCare repeal when they come back from congressional recess? Republican (inaudible) consensus there. What about tax reform? What about infrastructure? We'll try to link those two. The Democrats think this president is weak. Right now, listen to Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader on this issue of China. He knows the president is in trouble. He wants to keep him in trouble.</s>SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), MINORITY LEADER: The president makes a promise, signs an empty executive order that won't help the life of a single American worker. Smiles at the cameras and goes right back to helping out the special interests and leaving America's workers out to dry.</s>KING: He is weak at the moment, close to the 100-day mark. But I keep remembering the campaign when candidate Trump was counted out, when candidate Trump was low in the polls, when people said candidate Trump can't do this. Is there a formula or are they working on a formula, do they have a plan to, OK, it took us a while to get used to Washington to figure out how this town works but now we're going to do "x"?</s>PARKER: Well, one that it's interesting, there's been sort of a question in Washington and even among some of his allies as, you know, why is he doing this. For instance, rally in Wisconsin instead of doing rallies where he -- either went out and tried really hard to sell health care for instance or tax reform or infrastructure or whatever it is he turns to. I think part of the plan that goes a little unnoticed that there is sort of a cosmic emotional play for Donald Trump which is that he is better when he is going out into the country, doing this campaign style rallies and getting that adulation from his base. So this may not make a ton of sentence from a strategic standpoint. I think they feel like if the president is in a good mood it can often help them get other things done.</s>KING: The staff is keeping (inaudible). It's an interesting to note. They -- it's an interesting point. Feeling good doesn't necessarily get things done. Now, we'll see as this plays out. The president will have those events (inaudible) for you right here this afternoon if he goes to (inaudible). Up next, it's a congressional seat last held by Trump cabinet member Tom Price. Before that, held by Newt Gingrich. Can a Democrat really win a big special election right now, today in Georgia?