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Trump Finishes Final Lap in Victory Tour

by VOA News

   President-elect Donald Trump has concluded his "thank-you tour" -- a
   series of rallies to celebrate his election victory last month -- with
   a speech in Alabama recounting his view that "dishonest" news reporters
   tried to depict him as a Republican candidate who could not win.

   Trump told an audience of several thousand people in Mobile, a city of
   about 200,000 people in the Southern state, that his campaign was "set
   up" by unfair reporting.

   "Liars," Trump said, repeating an accusation called out by an audience
   member. "They [his media opponents] all know what they're doing, but it
   didn't work, and that's why we're all here together."

   WATCH: Trump Shares Complaint With Alabama Rally Over 'Person of the
   Year' Award

   Trump spoke with relish as he took the crowd at the rally on a
   state-by-state recap of election night, with votes steadily piling up
   in his favor. To audience members who shouted, "Lock her up!" at a
   mention of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, Trump replied,
   "Nah. We won."

   Trump claimed the Clinton campaign had stockpiled $7 million worth of
   fireworks to celebrate her election victory. His staff offered to buy
   the pyrotechnic display "for 5 cents on the dollar," Trump contended,
   but "we never heard back from them."

   Campaign promises revisited

   Of his former Republican opponents, Trump said, "We're all friends
   now." He repeated his familiar pledges to build a wall at the Mexican
   border and renegotiate U.S. trade deals, and emphasized his intention
   to begin what he has called "extreme vetting" of would-be immigrants,
   in order to weed out extremists.

   President-elect Donald Trump is greeted by the Azalea Trail Maids -- 50
   high school seniors chosen yearly to serve as ambassadors for the city
   of Mobile, Ala. -- after arriving at the airport for a rally at
   Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Dec. 17, 2016.

   "I am going to keep radical Islamic terrorists the hell out of our
   country," Trump said, to loud cheers from the crowd. "We have no
   choice."

   Trump said he was particularly keen to return to Mobile on his
   post-election tour. The city was the scene of a very successful rally
   in August, an outpouring of support that the president-elect's staff
   members said gave Trump a strong push forward in the final phase of the
   campaign.

   "This is the last time I'll be speaking at a rally in a while," Trump
   said shortly before wrapping up his speech in Mobile late in the
   afternoon.

   "They say, 'As president, he shouldn't be doing rallies.' But I think
   we should," he told the crowd. "We've done everything else the
   opposite."

   Tough fiscal policies expected

   From Mobile, Trump flew to Florida to rejoin his family, who arrived
   there Friday for an extended Christmas holiday. Aides said the
   president-elect most likely would spend the next week at his Mar-a-Lago
   estate in Palm Beach, hosting meetings and relaxing with his family.

   WATCH: Trump Polls Those at Rally: Made in America? Or Made in USA?

   Earlier Saturday, Trump announced his choice for White House budget
   director: U.S. Representative Mick Mulvaney, a South Carolina
   Republican known as a strong advocate of fiscal restraint, even among
   members of his party. The move is seen as a sign that Trump may press
   to cut federal spending overall, despite other promises he has made to
   boost military spending, protect expensive entitlement programs and
   rebuild the nation's infrastructure, at a possible cost of up to $1
   trillion.

   "Right now we are nearly $20 trillion in debt," Trump said in a
   statement, "but Mick is a very high-energy leader with deep convictions
   on how to responsibly manage our nation's finances and save our country
   from drowning in red ink."

   Mulvaney also is a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, a group
   of staunchly conservative Republicans who are considered responsible
   for the 2015 ouster of then-House Speaker John Boehner.