President Trump on Thursday insisted he’s had “one of the most successful” starts as president in U.S. history, dismissing the chaos and stalled legislative agenda that has marred his first 100 days in office.
“I think we’ve had one of the most successful 13 weeks in the history of the presidency,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.
The president cited positive numbers on job creation, negotiations on presidential aircraft prices and his planned military buildup.
Trump’s first weeks in office have been anything but smooth.
{mosads}The president continues to be dogged by a federal investigation into whether his associates cooperated with Russia in its efforts to meddle in the 2016 presidential election.
The controversy led him to oust retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn as national security adviser after it was revealed Flynn misled senior White House officials about his conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S.
Trump’s signature executive order temporarily blocking travelers from a number of Muslim-majority countries has twice been blocked by the courts.
And GOP leaders were forced to pull their plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare in the House after it ran into resistance from rank-and-file Republicans. That resulted in a second staff shakeup, in which the president’s deputy chief of staff left the White House to work with outside pro-Trump groups.
The president’s chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, was also removed from his permanent role on the National Security Council Principals Committee on Wednesday.
Asked if another staff shakeup could happen, Trump said he thought the administration had “already shaken things up.”
Friday will mark 11 weeks since Trump was inaugurated as president.