Trump slams the media at campaign-style rally in Michigan
While journalists, lobbyists and White House staffers attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, D.C., Saturday night, Mr. Trump was in another Washington -- Washington, Michigan, holding a campaign-style rally. He's now skipped the media event for the second year in a row.
Mr. Trump slammed some of his favorite targets including the media, former FBI Director James Comey, Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, amongst others.
"Is this better than that phony Washington White House correspondents thing? Is this more fun?" Mr. Trump asked his crowd. "I could be up there tonight smiling like I love when they're hitting you, shot after shot."
"These people, they hate your guts," he continued. "And you know, you got to smile. And if you don't smile, they say, 'He was terrible. He couldn't take it.' And if you do smile, they'll say, 'What was he smiling about?' You know, there's no win."
Follow Trump's Michigan rally below:
Energized crowd, less protests than expected
Reporting from the rally, CBS News' Kenneth Craig said on CBSN that the crowd seemed energized and people lined up for several hours to get into the event. Craig said he was expecting three to four protest groups who said they would be demonstrating but he did not see them several hours ago when he arrived at the event.
Craig spoke with a number of Trump supports at the event who said they aren't worried about a blue wave of votes in November's midterm elections.
"Fight like hell" in miderms
Mr. Trump also touched on November's midterm elections by saying his supporters need to turn out and "fight like hell."
"We gotta go out, and we gotta fight like hell," he said. "I think we're going to do great in the Senate, and I think we're going to do great in the House because the economy is so good."
He added, "A vote for a Democrat in November is a vote for open borders and crime."
"Kanye West gets it"
Mr. Trump gave rapper Kanye West a shout out Saturday as he spoke about African-American employment in the U.S.
"In all fairness, Kanye West gets it -- he gots it," Mr. Trump said.
"When he sees that African-American unemployment is the lowest in history," he added. "You know, people are watching. That's a very important thing he's done for his legacy."
Mr. Trump frequently parades low unemployment rates at his events, what he doesn't mention is that the rate for black workers remains well-above those for whites and other groups.
Meanwhile, West shared images of his "Make America Great Again" hat on Twitter that was signed by Mr. Trump. He called called the president his brother and said they both possess "dragon energy."
Attendee apparently becomes ill
"A doctor, please," Mr. Trump said after one attendant apparently became ill during the rally. Mr. Trump paused his rally for several minutes as the situation unfolded. It's currently unclear exactly what happened during the event.
"Those are the people we love," Mr. Trump said.
"I have 5 great options for VA secretary"
Mr. Trump says he has five "great options" to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Ronny Jackson, who the president had picked, withdrew his name from consideration on Thursday after unverified misconduct allegations surfaced before his confirmation hearing.
Mr. Trump called Jackson a "high-quality" individual and slammed Montana Sen. Jon Tester for making the allegations public.
"I know things about Tester that I could say, too," Mr. Trump said, "and if I said them, he'd never be elected again."
On Saturday morning, Mr. Trump took to Twitter and said Tester should resign.
"Strength will keep us out of nuclear war"
7:40 p.m.: Mr. Trump talked about his pending summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and said it could take place in 3 to 4 weeks. "Strength will keep us out of nuclear war," he said Saturday. "I'm not gonna be a John Kerry who makes a horrible Iran deal."
Mr. Trump also slammed news coverage of the meeting questioning his role in setting up the summit with Kim.
"What do you think President Trump had to do with it?" Mr. Trump said. "I'll tell you what. How about everything."
Mongolia and Singapore are the final two sites under consideration for the upcoming summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, two administration sources told CBS News' Major Garrett.
Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held a historic meeting Friday, with Kim becoming the first member of his family to cross the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) since the Korean War armistice in 1953. The two Koreas agreed to get rid of their nuclear weapons, but they did not offer any details about how they will achieve this.
The infamous caravan
7:33 p.m.: "Are you watching that mess with the caravan coming up. Our walls are so weak," Mr. Trump said blaming senior Democrats for "weak" immigration laws. "We have the worst laws anywhere in the world."
Mr. Trump is referring to a caravan of buses carrying hundreds of Central American migrants who plan to cross the Mexican border. CBS News' Carter Evans reports they could reach the border by Sunday.
Mr. Trump tweeted this week that he had "instructed the Secretary of Homeland Security not to let these large caravans of people into our country" but it may not be that easy. The U.S. is bound by international law to hear out asylum claims.
Trump takes the stage
7:24 p.m.: Mr. Trump is taking the stage. He's arriving to "God Bless the U.S.A." He immediately said he was invited to the White House Correspondents Dinner and the crowd roared with boos. He said he'd much rather be with his crowd of supporters in Michigan.
Trump arrives in Michigan
6:30 p.m.: Mr. Trump has arrived in Michigan ahead of Saturday evening's event. The president was photographed after landing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Charter Township. Mr. Trump is heading to the city of Washington for the rally.
Round 2: Rally vs. WH Correspondents Dinner
6:15 p.m.: Last year, Mr. Trump hosted a freewheeling rally in Pennsylvania at the same time as the dinner. At the time, Mr. Trump expressed his satisfaction to be with "much better people" than the D.C. press corps.
"They are gathered together for the White House Correspondents Dinner without the president," Mr. Trump said last year. "And I could not possibly be more thrilled than to be more than 100 miles away from Washington's swamp, spending my evening with all of you and with a much, much larger crowd and much better people, right?"
But, despite his regular criticisms of the press, Mr. Trump hasn't skipped out on all media festivities lately. In March, he spoke at the media-focused Gridiron Dinner in D.C.
"Nobody does self-deprecating humor better than I do. It's not even close," said Mr. Trump at that dinner. He also said, "I was very excited to receive this invitation and ruin your evening in person. That's why I accepted."
-- Kathryn Watson