WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump returned to the relatively calm waters of patriotism and supporting American troops in a speech on Saturday night that followed several outbursts against the media and others on social media earlier in the day.
"I want you to know that we will always keep our promises to those who have kept us free," the president said in remarks prepared for delivery at a "Celebrate Freedom" event at the Kennedy Center. The program, billed as a tribute to veterans, was staged by Christian broadcasting group Salem Media and the First Baptist Church of Dallas.
In a stab at inclusiveness, Trump said, "We all share one home, and one glorious destiny. And whether we are black or brown or white _ we all bleed the same red blood. We all salute the same great flag."
The president's remarks come days ahead of the nation's annual Independence Day celebration and as Trump considers his administration's approach toward fighting Islamic State. He said Saturday that terrorism and extremism can't be allowed to spread in the U.S.
The occasion gave Trump an opportunity to reset his message after a stalled push for a vote on Senate health care legislation, resistance from several Republican-led states to turning over private voter data for a Trump commission to study fraud, and the president's now three-day feud with MSNBC morning show hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.
Trump has looked to recent rallies to energize his base. At an event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in June, he spoke for more than an hour. In May, he used a commencement address at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., to amplify his own reputation as a political outsider.
He returned to that theme on Saturday, saying that his administration "is transferring power out of Washington and returning that power back to the people, where it belongs."
The president made a special return flight to Washington for the event at the Kennedy Center. He's spending the long weekend with wife Melania, son Barron, and in-laws at his Bedminster, N.J., golf resort.
Reporters were kept several miles from the property and the White House gave no details about the president's day. Trump kicked off his Saturday morning with a series of tweets that continued criticisms of cable TV networks and asking the more than 20 states resisting turning over broad voter data, "What are they trying to hide?"
More tweets were sent Saturday afternoon about the news media, along with one defending the use of social media as "MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL."
Trump's swipes at Brzezinski's physical appearance and mental state have prompted several Republicans in Congress to call the tweets inappropriate and un-presidential. The back-and-forth also includes a claim by the MSNBC hosts that White House officials suggested the couple could have fended off a negative story about them in The National Enquirer by apologizing to Trump for their negative coverage of him.
Organizers of Saturday's event, a rally with a voice and orchestral show, said the audience was to include hundreds of veterans from around the country including wounded warriors receiving care at Walter Reed Medical Center in suburban Bethesda, Md.
The church's pastor, Robert Jeffress, host of "Pathway to Victory," an internationally distributed radio and television program, said in a statement ahead of the event that he was "honored" but "not surprised" that Trump had agreed to participate. "I'm grateful that President Trump has created an atmosphere in which evangelical Christians feel at home once again in our nation's capital," Jeffress said.
"My administration will always support and defend your religious liberty," Trump said in his prepared remarks.
The first family will return to Washington Monday night in preparation for a July 4 gathering at the White House that's become tradition for U.S. presidents. Later next week, Trump embarks on his second foreign trip as commander in chief, which will include stops in Poland and Germany, where he'll participate in a G-20 summit and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders.
