Trump: Beyond 100 Days
BBC News
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At a Cabinet meeting with his leadership team, US President Donald Trump praised tariffs and businesses which he says are investing domestically
It comes after a new report shows the US economy shrank 0.3% in first three months of the year as firms stockpiled imports ahead of Trump tariffs
It is the first time the US economy has shrunk since 2022
Trump has blamed Joe Biden, saying "bad numbers" on Wall Street have "nothing to do with tariffs"
Later today, Trump will host CEOs from major companies including Nvidia and GE Aerospace for an investment event
Edited by Brandon Livesay in New York and Brajesh Upadhyay in Washington DC
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House
Here at the White House, we've just wrapped up the open-door portion of the cabinet meeting, which lasted exactly two hours and three minutes including remarks by each cabinet member and a brief question-and-answer period.
It was, as one might expect, largely self-congratulatory, with each cabinet member delivering remarks on their accomplishments within their department over the first 100 days of this administration. This event was for progress statements.
Very little new information came out of the cabinet meeting. Some of these officials are here at the White House quite frequently, and the talking points were largely ones I felt I had heard many times before during news briefings or "gaggles" outside the Oval Office.
It was also notable to me that the question-and-answer period was much shorter than usual. I was in the room for the last cabinet meeting, which although shorter in total length, was more focused on Trump's answers.
The topics that received emphasis from the president today, however, were quite telling in terms of the administration's priorities.
Immigration, in particular, is an issue in which they believe they are delivering on their campaign promises.
On the economy, the administration continues to shrug off any criticism and has sought to reassure Americans that ultimately, tariffs will be a benefit for them.
Notably, blaming the Biden administration for challenges facing the United States has become a talking point across many of the cabinet departments, for everything from the economy and foreign policy to veterans affairs. 
Imogen James
Live reporter
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Trump responds after saying he 'could' return Abrego Garcia
If you missed the Q&A session with President Trump after his nearly two-hours long cabinet meeting, here's a recap of how that went:
Question: is there an update on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the 29-year-old from El Salvador who was deported from the US mistakenly in March?
Answer: he has not spoken with El Salvador's president about the return of Abrego Garcia.
Question: why is he blaming Biden for bad stock markets, when he takes credit for the good ones?
Answer: he inherited a mess from Biden, and he is not taking "credit or discredit".
Question: will he try and mend the relationship with Canada?
Answer: he spoke with Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday, and he will visit the US within a week.
Question: will he speak to the Chinese President Xi Jinping?
Answer: it will happen, but China has been ripping off the US over trade for a long time.
Trump has repeatedly criticised Joe Biden during his first 100 days in office
Joe Biden's spokesman Andrew Bates has responded to Trump's repeated accusations against the former president.
Bates says Biden handed Trump the "best-performing economy in the world" that is now "plummeting toward a Trumpcession", according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.
Trump is the "only president to have sent a strengthening economy into a nosedive in 100 days, and the only president to have bankrupted a casino", he continues, adding that he would "probably be broke himself" if he wasn't "milking wealthy supporters for exemptions from his tariffs".
The White House has put out an official statement, external in response to Wednesday's report from the Commerce Department that economic growth has slowed this quarter.
The statement included a quote from press secretary Karoline Leavitt who, like Trump recently, has sought to blame the poor gross domestic product (GDP) results on former president Joe Biden.
"GDP is a backward-looking indicator," the statement said.
"Today’s headline figure reflects the end of the Biden economic disaster, not the beginning of the economic boom that President Trump is delivering."
Gross domestic investments are up, as are US exports, the statement said.
"Private employment gains, consumer spending, capital investment, and aggregate hours worked have all accelerated since January, while inflation has decelerated."
The marathon cabinet meeting followed by a Q&A session has now ended with Trump congratulating everyone at the table.
He ends by saying: 'I like my life, I'm working hard".
Trump is asked about when he will speak to the Chinese president Xi Jinping.
He says "it'll happen".
Trump segues into tariffs and says China is having "tremendous difficulty because their factories are not doing business".
"Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple bucks more than they would normally," he says.
The US does not need most of the things that China is producing and exporting, he adds.
China is the leading candidate for the "chief ripper offer", he says, to laughs in the room.
Trump is now addressing a question about whether he will use the Insurrection Act to send troop to the US border.
He says that the US is "under attack, in many ways worse than under attack" by migrants crossing the border.
He says the courts are impeding the administration from deporting "murderers", and accuses the Biden administration of letting in people who are "making our criminals look like the nicest people on earth". "These are serious criminals," he says.
He again criticises the "rogue judges" preventing his administration from deporting illegal migrants.
Circling back to the question, he repeats that the US has the "most secure border in the history of the country […] so I don't think we have to worry about your question too much".
Trump says that Canada's newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney called him yesterday to make a deal on tariffs and that he will be visiting the US within the next week.
He described Carney as a nice guy.
"They both hated Trump, but it was the one who hated Trump, I think, the least that won," he said, referring to Liberal leader Carney and his opponent, Conservative Pierre Poilievre.
The topic of the Ukraine minerals deal is brought up.
As we reported earlier, a senior Ukrainian official told the BBC that Ukraine is "ready to sign" a minerals agreement with the US "today".
There's still no clarity on when the deal will be signed.
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent says the US is ready to sign the deal as soon as this afternoon.
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Trump administration says US ready to sign Ukraine minerals deal
Trump is now asked about taking credit for stock market highs before the election and after he was elected. So now that the stock market is not doing as well, why is he blaming Biden, the journalist says.
Trump responds saying he isn't taking "credit or discredit" for the stock market. "I'm just saying that we inherited a mess", he tells the reporter.
The stock market is an "indicator" and he claims it shows how "bad the situation" was that he "inherited".
He adds that it isn't just this quarter that he is blaming Biden for, but also "you could say" the next one will be down to Biden too.
He says they are turning it around.
Trump is now speaking again after we heard updates from his cabinet members. He praised his group, saying he's proud of them and calling them an "impressive group of people".
After agreeing to take some questions from the media, Trump is asked about Kilmar Abrego Garcia – a 29-year-old from El Salvador who was deported back from the US in March.
Trump said Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele is a "great friend of our country" but that he hasn't spoken with him about returning Garcia.
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Trump responds after saying he 'could' return Abrego GarciaImogen James
Live reporter
As the president opens the floor to questions from from reporters, here's a recap of what the key players had to say during an almost two-hour Cabinet meeting we have been monitoring:
President Donald Trump: briefly summarised achievements of his administration, including deportations and border crossings. He blamed the previous president for the GDP shrinking in the US this quarter. On China, he hopes they will make a deal over the tariffs.
Vice-President JD Vance: called past presidents "placeholders" instead of being "men of action", then turned his attention to the media, blasting them for focusing on "BS" instead of stories on the administration's achievements.
State Secretary Marco Rubio: told the room he is focusing on foreign policy that is good for America, not the world. It is now guided by what is making America stronger, safer and richer.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent: avoided mentioning the news today that the US economy has shrunk for the first time since 2022. Instead, he said economic security "has never been better".
Elon Musk: the head of the Department of Government Efficiency drew some laughs when he wore two baseball caps. He used his time to tell the room that "this could be the greatest administration from the dawn of the country".
National Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard: revealed they have been investigating people for leaking classified information to the media. She's already referred some for criminal prosecution. They're also investigating election integrity.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now speaking, and likely the last cabinet member to speak.
Like the other cabinet members, he starts by praising Trump for the team he has assembled, and for his speed of taking action in his time in office.
Rubio says foreign policy is no longer about what is good for the world, it's about what is good for America.
He says it is now guided by whether or not America is stronger, safer, and richer.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is up next after Doug Burgum of the interior. He is seated to the president's right.
This cabinet meeting has now been going on for nearly over an hour- and-a half now, as all the cabinet secretaries and some, give lengthy updates.
The mic is now with Tulsi Gabbard, the director of National Intelligence.
Like many before her, she congratulates Trump on his first 100 days, and goes on to outlines areas that they are working on improving.
She mentions actions against gang members trying to enter the US, and also seeking out those already in the country to deport them.
She also claims they are working to "hold the deep state accountable".
"I sent three criminal referrals for illegal and unauthorised leaks to the media of classified intelligence for prosecution," she says. There are 11 more under investigations.
They are also investigating "very serious" issues around election integrity, she says, an issue that Trump has often been known to speak about, including his election loss in 2020 which he says was stolen.
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Trump cabinet applauds Musk's work with Doge
"Elon I love the double hat," Trump says.
Musk responds saying that he wears a lot of hats, getting some laughter from the room. "Even my hat has a hat!"
He goes on to take off both his hats and praises Trump, saying "a tremendous amount has been accomplished in the first 100 days".
"This could be the greatest administration from the dawn of the country."
Trump thanks Musk, saying he has scarified a lot and been "treated unfairly".
But the "vast majority of people in this country" appreciate you, he says, adding that Musk is "invited to stay as long as you want" – to a loud round of applause from the room.
As we mentioned earlier, cabinet members have Gulf of America embroidered red and black caps in front of them on the table they are sitting around.
According to reporters in the White House, Elon Musk has been fiddling with his hats, adjusting his Gulf of America hat to make it large enough to fit over his Doge (The Department of Government Efficiency) hat.
He's now wearing two hats, one on top of the other.
Speaking now is Pam Bondi, Trump's Attorney General, who immediately congratulates the president for his first 100 days in office, telling him they've "never seen anything like it".
Despite that, she says they are dealing with more than 200 civil lawsuits against them and multiple cases in front of the Supreme Court.
"We will succeed," she says firmly.
The cases against the Administration vary in content, but many are over the deportation of people from the US, funding cuts including to Harvard Univeristy, and tariffs.
Bondi also specifically mentions targeting people who have been burning Tesla cars in protest of Elon Musk, who sits in the room watching Bondi speak.
And now it's Vice-President JD Vance turn to speak, who repeats many of Trump's main talking points.
He says the US has gone from the "world's manufacturing superpower" to one that now relies on China, and the "proudest military in the world" to failing to meet their recruiting goals in the last 40 years.
He calls past presidents "placeholders", saying they allowed their staff to "sign executive orders with an autopen" rather than being "men of action".
The vice-president goes on to admonish journalists for focusing on “BS” instead of stories highlighting the administration's achievements.
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