Trump's embarrassing policy flip-flops

[Admin]

You simply gotto see the video..

And to think — there are still people who tell me that I can actually believe the things this man says:

Watch Donald Trump Contradict His Own Foreign Policy Speech | National Review

[Admin]

Perhaps the place to begin is to recall what one of the chief selling points of Donald Trump was, which was that he’s not a typical politician. He “tells it like it is” and says what he means. He has the guts to do what weak, incompetent and unprincipled politicians won’t. Yet it turns out that he’s far worse on this score than the typical politician. He is much more cynical than most, and the half-life of his promises are shorter than those of any politician in memory.

Trump has flipped his view on mass deportation, visas for high-skilled workers, the Iraq War, the Libya intervention, deposing Hosni Mubarak, Syrian refugees, fighting ISIS, NATO, nuclear proliferation, banning all Muslims, abortion, the minimum wage, Obamacare mandates, gun control, taxing the wealthy, releasing his tax returns, his party affiliation, his views on Ronald Reagan (from a “con man” to the president he admires most), Bill Clinton (from his sexual predatory habits being “totally unimportant” to him being “the worst abuser of women in history of politics”), Hillary Clinton (from “probably above and beyond everybody else” as secretary of state to “the worst secretary of state in the history of the United States”), and Barack Obama (from “doing great” as president to being “probably the worst president in the history of our country”). And this is only a partial list.

In just the last few weeks, Trump jettisoned what had been a core campaign commitment: The forced deportation of all illegal immigrants in the United States. He won the Republican primary in large part because he separated himself from other candidates on illegal immigration, and he was the one who repeatedly spoke about how he, and he alone, had the guts to deport 11 million illegal immigrants. He spoke proudly of his “deportation force” idea. It was central to his appeal. Yet he tossed it aside like it meant nothing to him, before (partially) reversing himself again. His latest position is that what he does with illegal immigrants is to be determined. Keep in mind, too, that in 2012 Trump lacerated Mitt Romney for being too tough on illegal immigration (“He had a crazy policy of self-deportation, which was maniacal” is how Trump put it on November 26, 2012. “It sounded as bad as it was, and he lost all of the Latino vote.”) So he’s been all over the map on this issue, like he has on so many others.

The Comprehensive Case Against Donald Trump | RealClearPolitics

[Admin]

Hmm..

Donald Trump, who has championed anti-free-trade and hardline immigration rhetoric on the 2016 presidential campaign trail, had a starkly different tone about globalization in a 2013 op-ed published on CNN's website. The Republican presidential nominee, writing about how Europe was a "terrific place" for investment, argued at the time that the 2008 recession had made it clear "the global economy has become truly that — global."

Trump wrote that "cultures and economics are intertwined" in today's society, and that it was necessary to "work with each other for the benefit of all." "My concern is that the negligence of a few will adversely affect the majority," he wrote. Trump continued: "In this case, the solution is clear. We will have to leave borders behind and go for global unity when it comes to financial stability." The real-estate mogul concluded his op-ed by writing that the future of the US and Europe "depends on a cohesive global economy." "All of us must work together toward that very significant common goal," he wrote.

Trump in 2013: We must 'leave borders behind,' future is global economy - Business Insider

[Admin]

Suddenly not a friend but an enemy. Four Arab nations cut ties with Qatar. Trump claims credit.

"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off," Trump continued. "They said they would take a hard line on funding ... extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday over its government’s alleged support for extremist and terrorist organizations.

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

The actions were necessary because of the "gross violations committed by authorities in Qatar over the past years," according to a statement from a Saudi official. Trump's tweets Tuesday morning contrast with statements he made last month during a meeting with Qatar’s emir in Saudi Arabia, in which Trump said "our relationship is extremely good." "We are friends. We’ve been friends now for a long time, haven’t we?" Trump said in the meeting.

Trump on Arab cut-off to Qatar: ‘beginning of the end’ of terrorism - Business Insider

And it's completely contradicting the stance of his own State Department..

On Monday, the governments of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain announced they had severed diplomatic relations with Qatar. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was quick to urge representatives of each country to "sit down together and address these differences" and said the US thinks it's important that the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Qatar as well as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain to "remain unified." Tillerson also said he doesn't think the diplomatic isolation of Qatar would have "any significant impact, if any impact at all" on the "fight against terrorism in the region or globally." But Trump hit Twitter on Tuesday morning to deliver a message that stood in stark contrast to the measured calm of Tillerson's statements.

Trump's Qatar statements directly contradict his own State Department - Business Insider

[Admin]

As recently as January, Trump was vowing to develop a health care plan that would cover everyone. The congressional Republican health care bills he ended up endorsing did not, of course, do that. Nor did they fulfill campaign pledges to protect Medicaid, or lower premiums and deductibles. His budget proposal quietly ditched his campaign pledge to avoid cutting Social Security. His Treasury Secretary conceded Monday that his administration won’t really be closing the notorious “carried interest” tax loophole. He keeps saying he’ll raise taxes on the wealthy, but his administration’s actual plans do the reverse..

After embracing orthodox Republicanism on all fronts, what’s the point of Trump? - Vox

[Admin]

Sanders indicated that Trump does in fact agree with Sessions’ move to restore federal power — one that threatens to throw the country’s $20 billion legal cannabis market into chaos. “The president believes in enforcing federal law. That would be his top priority, regardless of what the topic is, whether it’s marijuana or whether it’s immigration.” Sanders said. “The president’s position hasn’t changed, but he does strongly believe that we have to enforce federal law.”

But Sanders’ claim is false — Trump’s position has indeed changed, and in more ways than one. During an interview with a Colorado TV station in the summer of 2016, then-candidate Trump said that as president, he would not use federal power to shut down the sale of recreational cannabis in states like Colorado. “I wouldn’t do that, no,” Trump said, asked if he’d support the federal government intervening. “I think it’s up to the states, yeah. I’m a states person. I think it should be up to the states, absolutely.”

Sarah Huckabee Sanders lied about Trump’s position on marijuana and we have receipts – ThinkProgress

[Admin]

How many times did he change on DACA.. This article explains:

Lawmakers want to know what President Donald Trump wants on immigration. But nearly five months of meetings, memos, tweets, and press conferences have provided little clarity. Trump and White House staff have repeatedly muddled their message on the future of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which the administration plans to fully sunset by March 5. It’s become a seemingly never-ending routine between the two branches of government: Congress stalls negotiations, waiting for clarity from Trump; the White House releases guidance, then backpedals, leaving DACA, and the nearly 700,000 undocumented immigrants the program protects, in limbo. Rinse. Repeat. Confusion is par for the course. Trump is expected to release an “outline” for a bipartisan immigration deal — again — on Monday that calls for a path to citizenship for 1.8 million undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children, $25 billion to fund a southern border wall, substantial curtailing of family immigration, and elimination of the diversity visa lottery program, which some say could gut the legal immigration system.

All the times the White House changed its position on DACA - Vox

[Admin]

From isolationist to war hawk..

Bolton stood out for his hawkishness even in the hawkish Bush administration. He was a leading cheerleader for the war in Iraq. And he spent his post-White House career arguing for more military intervention, specifically in Iran (over its nuclear weapons program) and to calm the civil war in Syria. Trump, on the other hand, used to be a pretty staunch opponent of military adventurism in general and the war in Iraq in particular. (He claimed on the campaign trail that he had opposed the war before it started; that doesn’t appear to be the case, but he was certainly criticizing it as early as 2004.) He tweeted, over and over again, that “we should never have gone into Iraq” (though, he often added, after going in America should have at least “taken the oil”). And on at least one occasion, in 2013, he declared that “all former Bush administration officials should have zero standing” on the foreign policy question of the time

The case against John Bolton, in one Trump tweet - Vox

Or from zero policy standing to National Security Adviser..

[Admin]

Trump's broken campaign promises

The thing he promised as a candidate was to make Mexico pay for the wall — i.e., to brush aside the fiscal concerns that have in fact made wall-building impossible by asserting that there was a way to get the wall for free. This idea was so mind-bogglingly ridiculous that it’s probably for the best that Trump hasn’t actually tried to do it. But he definitely hasn’t tried, and he’s not going to be able to deliver on his promise because the promise was fundamentally dishonest.

The larger lie about Trump, however, is that he tried to keep his promise on the Affordable Care Act. It’s true that he repeatedly promised to repeal the Obama-era legislation. But what he specifically promised, as late as a January 2017 interview with the Washington Post, was that “we’re going to have insurance for everybody.” “There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us,” he elaborated. Under his proposed reform, he promised, people “can expect to have great health care. It will be in a much simplified form. Much less expensive and much better.” There’s a lot more where that came from:

• As a candidate, Trump promised to raise taxes on the rich; as president, he promised tax changes that at a minimum wouldn’t benefit the rich.
  
• Trump promised to break up America’s largest banks by reinstated old Glass-Steagall regulations that prevented financial conglomerates from operating in multiple lines of business.
  
• Trump promised price controls on prescription drugs.
  
• Trump promised to “take the oil” from Iraq to reduce the financial burden of US military policy.
  
• Trump promised many times that he would release his tax returns and promised to put his wealth into a blind trust.
  
• Trump vowed rollback of climate change regulations but said he was committed to upholding clean air and clean water goals.
  
• Trump promised a $1 trillion infrastructure package.
  

The larger betrayal is that Trump portrayed himself as a self-financed candidate (which wasn’t true) who was willing to take stances on domestic and economic issues that his donor-backed opponents wouldn’t. In terms of position-taking, that was true..

Trump’s many broken promises - Vox

A lot more in the article..

[Admin]

LOL..

President Donald Trump said Monday that U.S. military spending was too high, an apparent shift from his earlier calls for budget increases to rebuild what he labeled a depleted force... 

It was the first time the president, who has expressed increasing frustration over the federal deficit, posted a Twitter message critical of military spending, which has increased for two straight years during his administration. In August, the Senate approved a $716 billion defense budget for the fiscal year 2019, an $82 billion hike from the previous year. At the time, the administration and Congress said the increase was designed to address threats including Iran, China and Russia and to pay for a possible sixth military branch, the Space Force.

After backing more military spending for 2 years, Trump now complains it’s too high - MarketWatch