During a campaign-style rally, Trump said his moves to impose tariffs on US trading partners could lead to a resurgence in domestic manufacturing.
"We had the greatest economy in the history of our country," Trump said of his first presidency, from 2017-2021. "We did great, and we're doing better now."
Trump renewed his criticisms of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying the central bank head was not doing a good job.
He doubled down on calls for Congress to slash taxes, a plan that nonpartisan budget analysts said could add trillions to the nation's $US36.6 ($A57.3) trillion in debt.
"In the coming weeks and months, we will pass the largest tax cuts in American history, and that will include no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime," Trump told the crowd in Warren, which is home to the General Motors Technical Centre and located about 20 kilometres from downtown Detroit.
The president slammed "radical left lunatics", briefly verbally sparred with a heckler, and polled the crowd for their favourite nicknames for his predecessor Joe Biden.
Trump, who spoke in front of a banner that read "The Golden Age", paused to show supporters a slickly produced video montage highlighting the results of his administration's crackdown on illegal immigration: alleged gang members getting their heads shaved and put in prison. The crowd cheered.
Speaking briefly at a National Guard base before the Tuesday night rally, the president touted his administration's investments in defence.
"I'll be supporting a record-setting $US1 ($A1.6) trillion investment in our national defence," said Trump, speaking before dozens of troops, as well as his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump signed an order to soften the blow of his auto tariffs with a mix of credits and relief from other levies.
At the Warren rally, Trump cast his tariffs as an economic lifeline for Michigan.
"With my China tariffs, we're ending the greatest job theft in the history of the world," Trump said to cheers. "China has taken more jobs from us than any country has ever taken from another country."
Trump added that he thought a trade deal with China was on the horizon. "But it's going to be a fair deal," he said.
Polls show Americans are not convinced of Trump's economic vision.
In a three-day Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Sunday, 42 per cent of respondents approved of Trump's performance so far, while 53 per cent disapproved. That is down from 47 per cent approval in the Reuters/Ipsos poll in January.
Just 36 per cent of respondents approved of Trump's economic stewardship, the lowest level in his current or prior term.
Still, the audience in Michigan was largely unconcerned.
Paul Ruggeri, a 65-year-old retired steelworker, said he was fine with some short-term economic pain to support Trump's policies.
"I don't want the economy to tank, but we can't continue down the road we're going," Ruggeri said.
"We've got to make changes. It's going to be painful for a little while. We're going to see some price increases probably. But it's got to change."
Democrats railed against Trump's presidency on the Senate floor on Tuesday evening under the counter-programming banner "100 days of chaos", with multiple speeches expected to stretch well into the night.
"The president is testing and violating the bounds of our Constitution, amassing power for himself as the economy tanks, violating the rights of Americans and destroying our image abroad," Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, the chamber's No.2 Democrat, said.
"But it seems the ambition of the Republican-controlled legislative branch is all but absent as Donald Trump's government goes out of control ... It is, in fact, the silence of the lambs."
