Donald Trump has told a group of American workers that he does not want to “president of the world.”

Addressing union workers at an event of the National Association of Business Trade Unions (NTABU), Mr Trump said: “I’m the president of the United States, and from now on it’s going to be America first,”

His anti-globalism slogan of “America First” extends to having trade deficits with China, asking Germany to pay more towards the North American Treaty Organisation (Nato) so the US burden is less, and "sharing the wealth" Washington DC and Wall Street have experienced with American workers, he said.

Mr Trump declared that "the era of economic surrender is over."

He went on to praise the union workers’ “talent” as builders as he spoke vaguely of his administration’s plans for large infrastructure projects.

Using an almost comically large chart to show the number of regulations and permits required for highway construction, Mr Trump vowed to ease regulations to speed up building timelines.

According to The American Society of Infrastructure Engineers, US infrastructure gets a grade of “D+” and its renewal was a core promise during Mr Trump’s 2016 campaign.

“Together we are going to rebuild our nation,” he said to applause after he called the crowd the "backbone of America."

He touted his real estate development experience and said “it was about time we had [a builder] in the White House.”

Mr Trump did not discuss any specific plans to repair roads, bridges, or pipe systems, however.