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Donald Trump

Trump returns to a comfortable place: The campaign trail

David Jackson
USA TODAY
A Donald Trump airport rally in Iowa in January 2016.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — After a tumultuous four weeks in office, President Trump returns to a more comfortable place this weekend: the campaign trail.

From an appearance at a Boeing plant in South Carolina to an old-fashioned airport rally in Florida, Trump's events this weekend can't help but inspire talk of a 2020 re-election bid.

"This is unique; I don't believe it has ever happened before," political analyst Stuart Rothenberg said. "This is kind of the permanent campaign, taken to an extreme."

Trump has made no secret of his plans, however early, for 2020. He frequently speaks of spending eight years in the White House, and constantly invokes his November election victory during policy meetings.

Friday's appearance, Trump's first outside the Beltway since taking office on Jan. 20, is a formal presidential event.  At the Boeing plant next to the Charleston airport, Trump will mark the rollout of the first Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner.

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"This visit will give the president an opportunity to celebrate a huge milestone for thousands of workers at Boeing, America's number one exporter in the millions of American workers involved in aerospace," spokesman Sean Spicer said.

After the Boeing event, Trump heads further south for a Presidents Day weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. — a weekend to be interrupted by a quasi-campaign event in Central Florida.

The airport rally is being organized and financed by a Trump campaign organization. The campaign website advertised the event, and Trump himself tweeted: "Join me in Florida this Saturday at 5pm for a rally at the Orlando-Melbourne International Airport!"

Of course, all presidents enter office thinking about re-election. They all travel, though predecessors tended to hold events in support of specific legislative proposals, such as George W. Bush and his tax cut package and Barack Obama with his stimulus package.

Previous presidents have waited until much later in their first terms to talk about re-election campaigns.

Trump hasn't been so reticent. He has spoken about 2020 and talked wistfully of the campaign trail during what has been a very active first month in office.

A flurry of presidential orders included one that would bar entry to the United States from citizens of seven Muslim countries, the subject of protests and lawsuits across the country. The plan has so far been blocked by judicial decisions.

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Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, resigned after the president determined that he misled officials about the contents of a phone call with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. The Flynn incident triggered renewed interest in Trump's relationship with Russia, which stands accused of interfering in the 2016 election.

The still-new president continues to tweet, and his comments — ranging to attacks on "fake news" to claims of "fake tears" of Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer — have drawn catcalls from across the political spectrum (and support from many Republicans)..

Another feature of Trump's opening month: election talk.

During a Feb. 9 event to mark African-American History Month, Trump spoke of black support:  "We did well, the election — we — it came out really well. Next time, we'll triple it up or quadruple it, right?"

During his opening days in office. while swearing in new White House officials, Trump said, "we are going to do some great things over the next eight years.” He repeated: “Eight years.”

In a a joint news conference this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when asked about a recent spate of anti-Semitic incidents, Trump responded: "Well, I just want to say that we are, you know, very honored by the victory that we had ... There's tremendous enthusiasm out there."

Trump has also spoken longingly of the rallies that fueled his improbable campaign of last year.

This weekend brings a reprise.

"This looks to be Donald Trump looking to re-experience the energy and excitement of the last campaign," Rothenberg said. "And to begin the next campaign."

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