Is it unreasonable to expect a little bit of consistency?
If you like Trump’s current positions, you have no reason to think Trump will actually implement any of them since Trump changes his values more often than most people change underwear, but before we get into the major examples of Trump reversing his political positions on some yuuuuuug issues, I should mention that I’m excluding a ton of relatively minor flip-flops from this list. Also, I’m not going to spend long discussing how Trump’s current policies conflict with his positions in decades prior other than to quickly mention those changes here.
In 1990, Trump supported drug legalization. Now, he generally opposes it.
In 1999, Trump strongly supported all abortions. Today he generally opposes abortion.
In 1999, Trump advocated a 5.7 trillion dollar tax increase on the wealthy. Today, his tax policy is more in line with the mainstream Republican view which favors lower taxes for all income brackets.
In 2000, Trump supported civil union benefits for gay couples. Now, he opposes them.
In 2000, Trump advocated privatizing Social Security. Now, he says we should leave it alone.
That’s enough with the old news. Let’s take a look at Trump’s big, recent flip-flops.
Political Party
Trump was a registered Democrat from 2001 to 2009. This is simple but important. The man many Republicans think is the guy to lead the party fought that party just six years before he launched his Presidential campaign. The man supposedly aiming to reverse eight horrible years of Democrat rule under Barack Obama generally supported Democrat goals just a handful of years ago. People have the right to change their minds, but can’t the Republicans find anyone to lead the country who hasn’t completely reversed his entire political worldview in the last six years?
President Obama
Trump is well-practiced at serving the conservative base red meat with his blunt criticism of President Obama, but just rolling the clock back a few years reveals a Trump who was downright laudatory of President Obama.
In an interview in February 2009 responding to Obama’s massive budget busting stimulus package, Trump said, “This is a strong guy knows what he wants, and this is what we need…it looks like we have somebody that knows what he is doing finally in office.”
In his book Like a Champion released in April 2009, Trump said, “What he (Obama) has done is amazing…He understands how the economy works on a comprehensive level. He has also surrounded himself with very competent people, and that’s the mark of a strong leader…The world is excited about Barack Obama and the new United States. Let’s keep it that way.”
In an interview from April 2009, Trump said, “I really like him. I think that he’s working very hard. He’s trying to rebuild our reputation throughout the world…He’s totally a champion.”
Hillary Clinton
Based on his constant criticism of Hillary today, you might think Trump despised Secretary Clinton. However, Hillary could literally make a compelling minute long ad consisting of nothing more than quotes of Donald Trump gushing over the former Secretary of State.
In 2007, Trump said Hillary was great, he hoped she would become the Democratic nominee and that she would have good people negotiate a deal with Iran. That same year, Trump again praised her saying, “I know her very well. She’s very talented. And she has a husband that I also like very much. Trump affirmed that she was, “very, very capable.” Regarding Hillary’s healthcare proposals which were very similar to Obamacare, Trump said, “I think it was very good. I think she came out with an idea. It’s a very, very complex set of things going on right now in terms of healthcare. But she came out with an idea, it sounds like a pretty good idea, and a lot of people like it and embraced it.”
Trump actually endorsed Hillary in 2008, “I know Hillary and I think she’d make a great president or vice-president.” To my knowledge, this election cycle marks the first time a likely Republican nominee for President has ever endorsed the likely Democrat nominee for President.
Of course, you could try to dismiss all this as a relic of Trump’s bygone Democrat days, but he has actually made these types of comments since his Republican conversion. In 2012, Trump said, “Hillary Clinton I think is a terrific woman…I think she really works hard. And I think, again, she’s given an agenda, it is not all of her, but I think she really works hard and I think she does a good job. I like her.”
We’ve been told that Donald Trump has tapped into a wellspring of disenchanted conservatives who have grown tired to placing their faith in Republicans who say one thing while running for office and then change their policies when in power, yet ironically, these disenchanted voters have rallied around a man who has changed positions more radically and more often than the vast majority of elected officials without even facing the pressure to compromise that accompanies political office. I can think of no greater leap of faith than to stake the fate of the nation on the premise that Donald Trump has sincerely changed his entire worldview since 2009.
If you enjoyed this article, you'll be happy to know I've written a whole series on Trump. Click Here to Check them Out.
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