president's first 100 days in office. author and kaiser news editor-in-chief on what drives health-care costs and her recent piece in the new york times magazine. journal" is next. donald trump: i believe the first 100 days in my administration has been about the most successful in our country's history. ♪ host: good saturday morning, it is able point night, 2017. 29,t is saturday, april 2017. 100 day, where everybody take stock of where the president stands which is our primary focus today. what do you make of the substance or style of the president's first 100 days. for republicans is that the line

for republicans is 202-748-8001. democrats --202-748-8000. independents call 202-748-8002. you can reach us on social media, our twiddled handle -- twitter handle is @cspanwj and we are on facebook.com/c-span. a lot to be said about the first 100 days but a government shutdown not part of the conversation. the house and senate reached a deal to fund the government for another week, allowing lawmakers more time to reach a more solid deal. that is on the front page of the "washington post." ,hey point out that, meanwhile white house officials and conservative house republicans press for a vote on revised health care legislation that was brokered this week, aiming for as early as next week. that is driven by donald trump's

ambition for legislative accomplishment, to disrupt budget talks as they did this week. had the government shutdown today, it would have been a major embarrassment for republicans who control all the levers of power in washington. givenmmander-in-chief has interviews this week and counting what he sees as his major accomplishments. here is more from the weekly address. i believe thep: first 100 days of my administration has been about the most successful in our countries history. most importantly, we are bringing back jobs, you ask the people of michigan and ohio, you ask the people of pennsylvania, see what is happening. see the car companies come back. they do not want to leave, they want to stay here and a piece of the action. our country is going up and going up fast. our country -- our companies are doing better, just announced in

plastic profits, all because of what has happened in this short time, and that is just the beginning. we are putting in a massive tax cut for the middle class and business that will have a big effect. the massive keystone pipeline, the dakota pipeline, tens of thousands of jobs right there. and so many other businesses. we are proud of what we are doing. polling data can give us a clear view of what the country feels about the president. this is from the gallup .rganization, a daily poll 52% disapprove of the president while 43% approve. that is from april 20 7, 2017. -- 27, 2017. poll, 54% disapprove. the 44% approval rating put them

last of presidents at the 100 a point cents modern-day polling again, running back to dwight eisenhower. an independent calling in from pennsylvania. what do you make of the first 100 days? caller: citizen trump is doing the best he can against stupid politicians, some of them who should retire, they fall asleep at the wheel. rip outthat he should the dodd frank thing like the ritz -- by the roots. -- what are you talking -- dodd frank. caller: i get the important people mixed up. host: what is your issue with.

frank -- dodd frank? caller: the big idea that caused the collapse of the housing market. -- lawyer's was the that represented the acorn organization. i do not forget anything. i write everything down in my brain, i know who did what to do. host: what are the president's successes? caller: it is great and he should keep going. host: andy, a republican calling in from louisiana here -- from louisiana. caller: good morning. i think donald trump has turned the country around in a short time. i do believe that his greatest accomplishment to this point was

the nomination and confirmation of supreme court justice neil gorsuch. i think that we are making progress as far as the economy. i am optimistically thinking that our country will move, and continued to move, the greatest concern is north korea. -- and if this country would unite at this time and really face the issues at hand, i think our country will gin to recover from many years havelot of problems that .ccumulated the most market one would be the national debt. only one way to get out of the national debt which is to grow our way out. host: and what ways has president trump held true to his

campaign promises? caller: he has held true to every one of them. thing about the while being funded by the drug dealers is the best thing. wall being funded by the drug it was is the best thing, it does not come out of the taxpayers, it will be paid for by mexicans. we can limit the number of guns going into mexico to fund their cartel business. --need to do something about more in the education end about the horrors of drug abuse. we see more clarification on commercial television, and not enough about the other things. host: thank you for your call. economic growth, headline from the washington post and new york times, on the front page, growth slows on

tepid spending. the headline from the new york times spells it out more clearly, the economy grows at slowest rate in three years. .7%, a challenge for trump. the white house blames the numbers on the obama administration and says it makes an argument for the president economic agenda. let's go to william, a democrat calling from new york. what do you make of the first 100 days? caller: i think the president could have done a better job. to work with the democratic party. and other factions of the republican party that may not identify with his ideology. consider viewpoints on both sides of the aisle while striking a middle ground. when you are president, you are narrative for the country. he has forgotten that is the role of the president. he is still learning the cussing

never served in public service. because he never served in public service. we blame the treatise administrations -- the previous administrations instead of using the lessons learned. it is important for citizens to remain active and the president should focus more on economics. tangible jobs, as opposed to ideological ideas on how to improve our economic prosperity. host: you are a democrat, i imagine you voted for hillary clinton. expectations on election night and how do they square with where we are now? caller: i probably did vote for secretary clinton. , i didow expectations not know which way the election would go but i understood the fact that the country has become more moderate to conservative on

issues. i anticipated there would be a stronger turnout on the republican-conservative side. we did not anticipate president trump winning. as a country, we should unite and move forward, focus on holding congress accountable in the midterms so we can make our voices heard and make sure we curtail legislative message -- measures they are taking and putting our country not in the direction we want to see it going. host: the president was robbed of his legislative priority, a full repeal and replacement of the affordable care act with house republicans failing to bring the bill for a vote. not enough support in the house. this is what the president said about moving forward with new health care legislation. president trump: very close, 10 votes to 15 votes short, could

have been closer to that, you will never know because you do not know how they vote but i think we would have been 10 votes or closer. hard to get almost 100%, talking about a very large number of votes among any group. we were very close. and you get no votes from the other side, the democrats, it is a difficult situation. i think we have to let obamacare go its way for a little bit. i will -- i would love to see it go well but it cannot, it is not a question of -- i hope it does well, i would love it to do well, i want great health care for the people of this nation but it cannot be well. it is imploding and soon will explode. it will not be pretty. the democrats do not want to see that. they will reach out when they are ready and when they are ready, we are ready. host: david calling in from

jonesboro, arkansas on the republican line. .ood morning, david how do you rate the first 100 days? caller: a+. host: why is that? caller: well, if you look at the entire structure of the world, he is turning it it on its corner, not another man that could of done what he did. if you just look at one specific hundreds, what he did in china has never been done. to think that he could have the theater of china at mar-a-lago -- the leader of china at mar-a-lago, talking and enjoying himself, laughing, changing their policy, that would be enough to give any president an a+.

that is one of the most important achievements since the went to -- nixon went to china. bombing syria send a message to the world, we are not running away from the world, we are leading. in afghanistan, dropping the bomb send a strong message. going after isis sends a strong message. going after north korea sends a strong message. if you forgot everything about the domestic policy, and looked at foreign policy, my gosh, there has been a sea change. when obama was opening up the middle east for destruction, for chaos, that is what the radical islamists want and what they preach. his chaos.

chaos breeds confusion, and confusion brings destruction of the government's. syria and by and trying to get the muslim brotherhood in egypt. you know, i had a lot of friends that believed very strongly that obama was muslim. and i look atey facts in an objective way and never said that. all my friends thought that. all my republican friends. and some democratic friends. i just never would go that far because i felt like it was stating a fact that i did not know for sure. know what iso not in his heart. he -- everything

he did tended to help the nations a lot more than help the united states. what he did in around with that treaty that guarantees -- what he did in iran that guarantees they will have nuclear weapons, how stupid can you get? are you getting? and they will use them. how do you give them that much money in cash money, untraceable ? are you -- that does not make sense. that is not something that rational people would do. host: let's go to a democrat calling in from raleigh, north carolina. what do you make of the first 100 days? caller: i do not know how trump got so many republican people to vote republican -- vote against

their own interests. lot. -- he lies a they are lies. some of them are small lies. -- he has made it where the president of the united states, the most distinguished position in the much made ay laughing matter, or a joke of that position. sealed nearly any nominations. with agencies are working a very short staff. i think with bannon and his people are trying to destroy the

government. they are setting our government back many years. these regulations, a lot of destroying,are willy-nilly, he says forever regulation you an act -- an act -- enact, destroy two. a lot of these regulations are important. i do not mind if they are duplicated. if you can find out if they are duplicated, then, take away the duplication. to just willy-nilly go in, that is terrible. host: is there anything the president could do in the days to come to make you feel differently about him or his administration?

caller: one thing, he could stop. -- stop lying and pretending like -- he thinks he is on a tv show and he needs ratings. it is always about ratings. spicer,ed about sean no, i will keep him, it gets ratings, people love to watch him. that is not a reason to keep a politician. because he gets ratings. i do not understand his mindset. host: thank you for your call. he mentioned the fact that the administration has left several positions unfilled. this is from cnbc, democrats and congress cannot stall nominations that have not been made. as of thursday, the white house did not put forward candidates key positions 545 that require senate confirmation.

according to a nonpartisan group who advises incoming medications -- administrations. rose is on the line from michigan, independent. caller: i respectfully submit that the person that just spoke to you as his head in the sand. liar, he has done more and the 100 days than most presidents. .e is brought back the economy the other night i listen to fox and geraldo said my pocketbook has advanced thanks to donald trump. he brought in neil gorsuch. not enough lines on tv for the public to see what he is done. ok? andle who say he is a liar the reality show, they need to wake up and face the facts that donald trump is doing the best he can. he inherited a disaster thanks to obama, that nitwit. host: were you a trump supporter

from the very beginning? caller: yes, i wanted him to be president for 2007. host: what about donald trump inspires you? caller: he is what he is. how do you think he became a billionaire? by being a reality show expert and a liar? get real, people in america have to wake up. from davidve a tweet roth who writes a modern leader must be moderate and modest, donald trump's brand is bold and brash. alfred is calling in from jacksonville, florida, a democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. host: what do you think so far? caller: one issue i have is about the polls.

i do not believe in the polls because the polls represent the establishment and the establishment will always be against donald trump. i was a lifelong republican -- i voted democrat all my voting life. except this time, i voted for donald trump because i realized that this election was not about democrats or republicans, this election was about globalization and nationalism. the reason donald trump cannot get much done is because, it does not matter whether they are a democrat or republican, if they are for the establishment, that is the reason nothing can get done. you have democrats and republicans who put establishment. if donald trump had not won and hillary had one, it would have been business as usual and the establishment would have been doing everything they could to

globalize everything so that they can make all the money and take money out of the american people's pockets. thank god it donald trump came along. 30 years ago, he was on phil donahue, and he was asked if he would ever run, and oprah winfrey, this was 30 years ago, donald trump said he would run because 30o, something years ago, he saw what was happening and how the american people were getting taken advantage of by corporate .reed and the establishment he wanted to put a stop to it, and he did, and he is doing it. all the democrats -- i used to be a democrat. i did not leave the democrat party, the democrat party left me. i thank god that donald trump came to rectify the situation

that the muslim, obama, put us in. obama was not -- i do not know why blacks want to associate with him because obama is not really one of us. obama is really a white african muslim. south plainfield, new jersey, an independent. good morning. good morning, how are you? caller: barack obama bought -- brought this country back from the brink and the money he gives her a good morning, how are you run was frozen and along to our ron. was frozen and belongs to iran.

donald trump has these rallies when he needs accolades. not time for rallies, we need to do what this country needs and this country needs people to work together. donald trump has no intention of working with people. that donaldealize aump has the mentality of street urgent and the diction of a four-year-old. and he has to learn. god help us. i hope this country stays and goes forward, instead of going backward because that is what we are doing. we need to respect each other. until we respect each other, we will have a lot of problems. people do not really care anymore. thank you for your time. host: draw your attention to a graphic from the usa today, the

headline, from ronald to donald, the first 100 days. they have been rocky for other modern presidents but none had as bumpy a ride as donald trump. , ronaldoval rating reagan at the top with 60% in his first 100 days. at the bottom, president trump with 43%. they list his major successes which they view as the confirmation of neil gorsuch. and repealing some obama era regulations. under the setbacks, the proposal to repeal and replace the affordable care act withdrawn from the house. immigration orders blocked by federal courts, national security advisor michael flynn forced to resign. and fbi confirmed investigation into whether donald trump associates is colluded with

russia and election meddling. ed in houston, texas, a democrat. .aller: good morning i want to thank donald trump for uniting the democrats. i have never been more proud to be a democrat. i have been to rallies and marches since he became president. i have never seen this much enthusiasm in texas for democrats. i have to rate him is an incomplete because he is not done his homework. he puts a tax bill on a one-page memo. that does not do it. i would urge him to go home and the white house -- in the white house and do his homework and come up with a tax bill. come up with a solution about health care. in mar-a-lago,lf that will not get more jobs in pennsylvania or west virginia or

i will or michigan. michigan. he can campaign for 2020. the old saying, for me once, -- the democrats in houston have a plan for some of this resistance, in addition to marches and social media activism? caller: yes, a new party chair in harris county which went democratic heavily, george bush's hometown, the old george bush. every election in harris county, used to be a republican county but now a democratic stronghold. all of the democratic congressman the represent this county -- i mean, republican congressman, are nervous, ted from fort bend county that represents part of harris county.

i forget his name. they are all nervous. texas, we have had rallies for o rourke where i could not get in. the union hall. host: the campaign against ted cruz, right? caller: yes, he is very strong. i attended a rally for congressman castro. i have never seen this kind of enthusiasm and i have been a precinct chair since 1974. a lifelong democrat. my parents are democrats. i will continue that good. host: democrats have been turned -- talking about turning texas blue, you think donald trump will be the factor? caller: the antidote for the republican officeholders.

next year, ted cruz will be in a tough position for trying to get reelected. we have 61 judges to be elected countywide in harris county year, these guys need not to depend on that job after next year because democrats will sweep the county. 61 republicans that are elected countywide judges will have to find new employment. host: that is ed giving us a view from taxes. joe coming -- calling in from iowa, a republican, what do you make of the first 100 days? caller: the law-abiding american people, i would think they are extremely happy about the production he has put out. we are already feeling safer. the illegal immigration has decreased by over 60%. i heard 63%. the mexican government is

building a secure wall on their southern border. the crime rate will drop. legallyhat come up you that are fathering children -- not legally, that are fathering children, they have no social security number and do not pay child support. they need to be held accountable. the economy, everything looking up in the stock market. the people supporting the president are very happy. our prayers have been answered to save america and make it great again. host: what do you think about the setbacks, either from the courts about the travel ban, or big push to repeal and replace the affordable care act? caller: we need to follow the rule of law and we have to keep america safe. it has nothing to do with race or religion.

it is the fact that people have been killed in our own land by people that hate america, they have been taught this from little children. we need to educate people everywhere. everyone needs an education, need not be blinded by religion and filled with hate. we need to be brothers and sisters because we all come from one god. we need to stop the violence worldwide. went --ots ago one, i before he was president, it was like one big happy family at his rallies, except for the people that would come to disrupt it. we saw what they did the day of the inauguration, burning limousines and rioting and wearing masks. from supporters do not wear supporters do not wear masks because where law-abiding listens. stop destroying property and

start working to save america. we are amentioned nation of laws and here is the president talking about the ninth circuit decision on his executive order travel ban. and it goes for such time he deems necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens, or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants. or impose on the entry of aliens. any restriction he may deem to be appropriate. basically, it says, the president has the right to keep people out, if he feels it is not in the best interest of our country. right? [applause] president trump: unbelievable. i listen to these judges talk and talk and talk. so unfair. we will be doing something over the next couple of days, we do

not give up, we never give up. we had a court i disagree with. host: lisa is a democrat calling from laurel, maryland, what do you think of what you just saw from the president? caller: i think his first 100 days have been a dismal. courtsrhetoric about the racist.judges is he is someone i cannot imagine why he has the following that he has. this is a man who is gas lighting america. making people believe he is for the little guy, for the american people. in fact, everything he has done has been for his rich cronies. or the lady who called in earlier and said that geraldo on fox, i assume she means geraldo

rivera, talked about how his pocket is big, they are heavy, they were heavy before donald trump got in office and became heavier cents. i would ask her, are your pockets heavier? he has great rhetoric for those he can gaslight and for those who wear hoods, they are just called she for the german -- sheets, for the gentleman who said take off your masks, they are sheets, the kkk believers who voted for donald trump. bringing this country together and does not mean to bring the country together. the woman who called president obama a nincompoop, really? 2007, when he realized a half black man could be in the oval office, who dismissed president

obama's entire two terms that the american people elected him to. overturnis time to everything that was done in the last eight years, whether it makes sense or not. america is in trouble. racism is going nowhere. the black man who called in and said obama is not blackbody white african muslim -- is not black but a white african muslim, wake up. host: a republican from jacksonville, florida. what do you make of the first 100 days of the trump administration? caller: full of misrepresentations by the president. i am a 30 year watcher of c-span. callers,ired of your particularly republicans blaming

obama for everything that happened to the country. a lot of that fueled by donald trump during his campaign. if people are looking at the facts, donald trump people do not look at the facts. they look at the facts they want to look at in terms of the former president, blaming him for everything without looking at what president trump says he can do and what he has not done within the first 100 days. they are a multitude of things. the press has been intimidated by president trump, even though they are given the fact and you have one of his former advisers talking about alternative facts. the president has given him a pass compared to other presidents who has accepted some of their foibles within 100 days and have moved to try to greg them. president trump does not care about any of that, he only cares about himself and a powering himself through rallies.

c-span is still the best program in terms of openness. you had one caller on the other side i agreed with, we should be a country of laws. illegally should not stay in the united states. we should find ways to have them get in mind and become legal and come to the united states. i am not a person who continually talks, i am tired of the hatred in america. and disagreement, not being able to sit down without castigating someone in a hateful tone. host: you mentioned you have been watching c-span 438 years, -- for 38 years, what you make about american politics? caller: an extremely difficult times. 1860's with president lincoln, it caused the

civil war, this hatred, this not listening to people who disagree with you without drawing weapons led to a civil war. i hope it does not happen but i think it may lead us to a thermonuclear war if not private versus rhetoric of someone who had the opportunity to serve his country. i am a combat the non-veteran. he wants to send other people's children to war but he has not gone. his son has not gone. he has this -- i will conquer the world attitude with our military. he has military generals who have served. they are military people who know what is going on. wille is looking at what the happening to this country. in a very dangerous time with this president. i am hoping that the rhetoric on

the other side with north korea and russia, and the other, down, andwe tone this not finding ourselves, those who served in vietnam combat do not want to go back to work. i am hoping the president finds that out. host: thank you for your service. ,e will promote a new website c-span.org, a new executive branch page. accessible through the header c-span.org, the homepage, or go branch.n.org/executive it includes video on demand and filters for easy searching and the president appearances on c-span are there. let's go to margaret calling in from aberdeen, washington, an independent. caller: good morning and thank you for c-span.

i appreciate you, too. my first few days after the election, it is a horizontal in the fetal position. after i got myself off of the couch, i became active. one of the first things i worried about was the carrier. when i got off the couch, i thought i would give this man a chance, he is my president. he started telling office hisnet positions -- all cabinet positions with those he campaigned against, oil, banks, wall street, dereg leading epa epa.regulation one of the first things he did as president-elect was the carrier, saying he talked about saving all the jobs. it was vice president elect mike

pence who did not give up his governorship yet. he was the only one new made that happened by giving them $7 million in tax credits. and then carrier's parent company, united technologies, one of the largest military defense contractors. like the prior caller, you talked about the civil war, i worry about that more also been a nuclear war with new gurria -- north korea, china, russia. i worry about what he is doing. he talks about draining the swamp. which is great. swamp, if you the want to get rid of the leeches and snakes and the crocodiles, but he is getting rid of the wetlands, and the environmental regulations that keep the ecosystem going.

where there are swamps, good swamps. i am not happy with him. the only good thing i can say about the president right now is the fact that you got me active. active in moving and talking to my senators, my congressman, and marching. i will give him credit for that. host: you had not done that previously? caller: no. host: frank is a republican in myrtle beach, south carolina. what do you make of the first 100 days? caller: i think he has done a good job. considering the country is so divided. it seems like every time you turn around, all the time, they bring up something. just to tear the man down. he is not a politician. he is a businessman.

he is like andrew jackson was when he was elected president, he was a frontiersman. the history of this country tells us where we are going. inevitable. is if you look at 1800, massive european immigration. confrontation with the indians. andrew jackson became president and took care of the indian issue. 1900, this is where we are now. this is because of the massive immigration that took place in the 1900s where there were no laws. we let all the europeans come in. -- even donald trump is a second-generation american and mike pence is a second-generation america. was once stated, immigration will be the downfall of this country. it isnot the mexicans,

the europeans that came here at the turn of the century and woodrow wilson with the league of nations. the worst we had. world's un, we are the pocketbook, we kowtow to the world. now donald trump is trying to change that. internet,dvent of the it will be hard to do. it will be interesting. that is really all i got to say. a lot of things that is happening in the last eight years and it was not just obama. i hired anet, if employee who promised like donald trump and failed to deliver like donald trump, i would have fired him. abe in new york, new york, a democrat. caller: good morning. host: what is on your mind? caller: donald trump is what we

knew he would be, a racist come as a native new yorker, we know him better than everybody, he has a history of being a racist. a gerald ford administration sued him and his father's administration for refusing to rent to black people. the republican supporters deny reality, the lady from michigan economybout the great growth, we just had gdp for fourth quarter at .7%, the worst performance in three years. as long as he is against immigrants and the so-called country of laws is basically code for let's keep out immigrants, latinos, african-americans, women, they are ok. he has been dismal. our only hope is that we survived the four years before he made he blows up the world in a fight with north korea. his economic plan will line news and his grifters pockets.

we talk about subchapter s corporations that be taxes he paid, he would not be paying a dime if his tax plan goes through. host: you are from new york, what do you think about his time at their and his approach to politics? caller: he was a phony liberal for many years but has been supporting republicans his entire life. the central park five where we have five people accused of rape, even though they were exonerated of the dna evidence proved they were innocent, donald trump took out a full-page ad in the times saying they should be killed without evidence. all of his political leanings have been for the rich, which is not surprising. he is a rich guy. he ran as a successful businessman but his business record, he has been an unsuccessful businessman. an old saying, if you took his dad's money that he got and put it in the bank at typical stock market returns he would have far

more money than he has today. make $1 million, taking million dollars and put it in the bank. bankruptcyses one after another, he has taken casinos and gone bankrupt four times or five times. how can anybody do that and call themselves successful? host: we will hear from trump voters only for the next half me, getting some guidance from the control room, a little ahead of myself. we will hear from robert schlesinger about the first 100 days. let's get more from the president's weekly address. president trump: and 14 weeks, we have brought road town change to washington, the most fundamental change can be found in the relationship between the people and the government. politicians for too long to more about special interests than they did about a very successful

future for all americans. they took our taxpayers money and sent their jobs and wealth to other countries, not anymore. from the first day of my administration, i have governed by a simple idea, my only allegiance is do you, our wonderful citizens. together, we see the great achievements are possible when we put american people first. that is why i withdrew the united states from the transpacific partnership. that day was a turning port -- point for our nation which by the other countries on notice that the sellout of the american worker was over. in the following weeks, i took unprecedented action to reverse federal overreach and unleash job creation. we have slashed burdensome regulations and impose a policy that, for each new regulation, to regulations must be taken from the books. we have done it while moving quickly to restore the most basic protections for all

citizens, the rule of law. a truly great judge, neil gorsuch, now sits at the united states supreme court. the justice is deeply devoted to our constitution. my administration is the first in modern political europe to to confirm aa supreme court justice in the .ast 100 days -- first 100 days it happened last 136 years ago in 1881. defending the rule of law is a priority, not just in the courts but also in the street and on the border. we told the incredible police of our nation that they have powerful support as they work to bring down violent crime rates. we have taken bold action to criminal -- go after cartels and taken top priority to prosecute anyone who targets law enforcement. this has many work of my administration, fighting for the american worker and defending the rule of law.

and returning the power to the american people. since my inauguration, economic confidence has soared, reaching higher than any time in nine years. optimism among manufacturers is at a record high and small business confidence has seen its largest increase in nearly four decades. perhaps the greatest change of all is the renewal of the american spirit. as long as we have faith in each other and trust in god, the sunshine will always shine on our very glorious republic. continues.on journal ist: robert schlesinger managing editor for opinion at "u.s. news & world report." we have been talking about this important 100 a marker, i call that all-important but should it be? guest: it should not, an arbitrary standard that dates days, itdr's first 100 actually was the first 100 d