IV. Trump Is a Flip-Flopper: Part 2

For Flip-Flopper Part 1, Click Here

I’ve previously discussed how Donald Trump has completely reversed himself on the political ideology he advocates, on the high praise he once heaped on President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton and on other crucial political concerns, but I’m far from done. Trump has changed on many other important issues.

Afghanistan 

Though there are a lot of issues that divide voters in the United States, you can find nigh universal agreement that the U.S. was right to send the military into Afghanistan to knock out Al Qaeda, but Trump was one of the few exceptions saying.“We made a terrible mistake getting involved there (Afghanistan) in the first place,” but Trump reversed himself within two weeks stating, “Iraq was a disaster. Not Afghanistan, because that's probably where we should have gone in the first place.”

Withdraw from Iraq

When asked in 2007 about the need for U.S. withdraw from Iraq, Trump rejected the idea that any particular exit strategy was needed arguing, “You know how they (U.S. forces) get out? They get out. That's how they get out. Declare victory and leave. Because, I'll tell you, this country is just going to get further bogged down. They're in a civil war over there, Wolf. There's nothing that we're going to be able to do with a civil war,” yet when President Obama did exactly as Trump suggested by declaring victory and withdrawing U.S. forces, Trump said, “When Obama took us out (of Iraq), the way he took us out, that was a mistake.”

War with ISIS

Trump has changed his stance on battling ISIS in Syria. In February 2015 in the midst of yet another civil war in the Middle East and the continuing war in Iraq, Trump said, “On ISIS…nobody would be tougher than Donald Trump. I would hit them so hard and so fast that they wouldn't know what happened.” In August, Trump explicitly stated that we need, “boots on the ground…any place where they (ISIS) have oil.” Since ISIS has control of oil in Syria, that would obviously include action in both Iraq and Syria, but a month later in September, Trump changed his mind saying we should, “Let Russia fight ISIS if they want to fight them. Let them fight them, in Syria. Now we can fight them in Iraq.”

Notice that while Trump has changed his view on U.S. forces in Syria, Trump has been consistent in calling for decisive action in the battling ISIS terrorists and establishing stability in Iraq, yet this is the same Trump who regularly brags that he opposed U.S. attempts to battle terrorists and establish stability in Iraq during the Bush administration. 

Middle Eastern Immigrants 

Trump won praise from some when he called on a ban on all Muslim immigration to the United State, yet this position was reached through yet another flip-flop. 

On September 9th, 2015, Trump was asked if he would allow people fleeing from the Middle East into the United States. Trump responded, “I hate the concept of it, but on a humanitarian basis with what’s happening you have to.” It took Trump less than a month to pull a 180 on the issue. On October 3rd, Trump said, “If they (Syrian refugees) come in, and if I win, they're going back. They're going back.” It wasn’t until December 8th that Trump called for a complete ban of all Muslim immigration. 

Corporate Donations

One thing that seems to excite many Trump fans and set him apart from the GOP field is Trump’s purported ability to run purely on his own wealth and refuse all donations. If this attracted you to Trump, I’ve got bad news for you.

Trump did indeed claim that he would only use his own money for his campaign. In June 2015, Trump stated with his signature humility, “I’m using my own money. I’m not using the lobbyists. I’m not using donors. I don’t care. I’m really rich.” In July, he elaborated saying, “Every single person that gave every single dollar is expecting something for that money, every single person. And that’s not good for the country. Somebody that’s reliant on all of these lobbyists and special interests and donors, they have no power to make a decision, because they feel obligated to all these people.”

It was still July when Trump went to a fundraiser full of wealthy Trump donors sponsored by the Make America Great Again super PAC. While gathering his newly acquired bags of money, Trump said, “There are so many people wanting to contribute and I am so grateful for their support. I appreciate the moral investment in my vision to Make America Great Again.” In August, Trump admitted he was open to taking donations of all types, “as long as they don’t expect anything.” Since people who make political contributions always claim they don’t expect anything in return, this stipulation is meaningless. Even though Trump has prominently displayed a donations page on his official campaign website and has several super PACs spending money on his behalf, Trump still laces his speeches with comments that strongly imply that he refuses all contributions. In August, he said, “I’ve got a lot of money. I don’t need people funding me, like the other candidates. I have people coming up all the time, wanting to give me millions of dollars— $5 million last week I turned down, from one man! I said, ‘I don’t want your money,’ and I think that resonates with people.”

Conclusion: The Head Flip-Flopper

It seems to me that Trump has no real values beyond self-promotion and simply says whatever he feels will earn him votes at any given moment, but admittedly, that’s my unprovable and cynical view. Perhaps someone more trusting of those running for elected office might conclude that Trump is making these changes for principled reasons. Regardless of his motivation, the fact remains that Trump does change frequently and without warning or explanation. If you like Trump’s current positions, you have absolutely no reason to think he’ll still hold those positions one month from now much less when he’s three years into his first presidential term.

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