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President Trump Returns to Pennsylvania on 100th Day

HARRISBURG — President Donald Trump opted to spend his 100th day in office in Harrisburg surrounded by fans and repeating much of his same campaign promis...

HARRISBURG -- President Donald Trump opted to spend his 100th day in office in Harrisburg surrounded by fans and repeating much of his same campaign promises rather than be in Washington for the White House Correspondents Dinner.

It felt just like election season as thousands of people lined up outside the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex to see the president deliver a speech on his 100th day in office. Some people arrived as early as 1 a.m. to have a chance to see the president in person.

The rally took place at just about the same time as the White House Correspondents Dinner. For a lot of people who waited outside, it means a lot seeing the president spend his time here in Pennsylvania instead of in Washington.

"That just hit my heart because he's very appreciative and he doesn't forget who helped get him elected," said Paula Gavlick of Berwick. "He could have gone anywhere tonight, especially down in Washington, but he purposely skipped that event and it means a lot to me, and I'm sure everyone standing in line here and everyone who supported him."

Nick Valle and his friend Rich drove from Pottsville. It's Nick's seventh Donald Trump rally.

"It shows that he actually cares about us, too. He gives back. We gave to him by giving him Pennsylvania as a win so he comes back," Valle said. "This is his second time because he came to Hershey as the president-elect, so he really shows that he cares about us, too."

Trump was joined by Vice President Mike Pence. The president spoke for about an hour. He talked about everything from appointing Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court to his dislike of how he has been portrayed in the media. He also talked about his plans for the future for things like coal.

"And very importantly for Pennsylvania, we have ended the war on beautiful, clean coal and we are putting our great coal miners back to work," Trump said.

After the rally, Trump supporters told Newswatch 16 it meant a lot to see the president in Pennsylvania, just like they saw him time and time again during the campaign trail.

"It's just unbelievable that he chose Pennsylvania to come for his 100th day," said Christina Dorman of Selinsgrove.

President Trump's emphasis on coal especially resonated with Thomas Houser, whose family used to live in Shenandoah but now lives in Baltimore.

"Back when my mom and dad were little, there was coal country and a lot of things going on. But now when I go back up there, there's literally nothing, no jobs left, so I'm kind of hoping for Trump to turn that around for us," Houser said.

State troopers were busy throughout the rally, escorting out nearly a dozen protesters. While outside, dozens more protested the president throughout the evening.

While plenty of people came out to support the president for the rally, just across the street was another rally uniting people against what they call "Trump's 100 Days of Broken Promises."

Dozens met up across the street from the farm show complex to point out issues with the current administration. They even featured speakers from throughout the Democratic party here in Pennsylvania and continued with a march through Harrisburg.

Gail Coddington is originally from Schuylkill County. She tells Newswatch 16 the president's first 100 days aren't anything to celebrate.

"He has accomplished nothing except executive orders and to go to Florida on taxpayers' money and that's all he has done," Coddington said.

You can watch the president's entire speech here.

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