Trump touts visits with foreign leaders, immigration in weekly address

President Trump on Friday capped off a whirlwind week for his administration, touting a reduction in illegal border crossings and his meetings with a number of foreign leaders. 

“Much work needs to be done to reverse decades of harm caused by open-border policies from Washington,” Trump said in his weekly address. “But with time, dedication and effort, we will get the job done and save countless lives in the process.”

The Department of Homeland Security said this week that there was a steep drop in the number of arrests at the Mexico border. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said that fewer than 12,500 people were detained trying to cross the border in March, down 70 percent from the month before. 

{mosads}Trump also reflected on visits from King Abdullah II of Jordan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and briefly touched on his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, which is continuing into the weekend. The meetings, he said, signaled his efforts to “strengthen our alliances and improve our relationships all around the globe.”

“In our dealings with other nations, our conversations have been candid, open and grounded in mutual respect. I have been clear about advocating for the national interests of the United States — something so important to me, and so important to our people. One of the reasons, certainly, that I got elected,” he said.

The president touted his administration’s work with U.S. manufacturers. 

“Ninety-three percent of our domestic manufacturers have expressed optimism in our future – a record,” he said. “The confidence we’re seeing in our nation is about jobs and opportunity.”