Donald Trump would like for Americans to believe he is a man of principle, who stands for American values. Nothing could be farther from the truth.He is a narcissistic lair who cares about nothing but what he thinks will make him look good. If he takes a stand and then starts getting bad publicity for it, he will change that stand in a heartbeat. In fact, there are times in which he changes a stand more than once -- waffling back and forth.
To be blunt, Donald Trump is the biggest flip-flopper to ever occupy the White House -- caring nothing about what his stands will do to the American people. That's because he is incapable of caring for anyone but himself.
Following is part of an op-ed by Michelle Cottle -- a member of the editorial board of The New York Times:
For better and for worse, Mr. Trump is a chronic waffler. As such, the American public would do well to stay vigilant about what his administration is up to — and not be shy about applying pressure.
It has long been clear that Mr. Trump is not the decisive, resolute leader he imagines himself to be. His presidency is littered with plans and pronouncements that were walked back or abandoned — some good, some not so good. His announcement last December that he was pulling all American troops from Syria was dramatically revised after pushback from foreign allies, lawmakers and his military advisers. This June, he approved military strikeson Iran in retaliation for its downing of an American drone, then canceled them. Last month, facing market turmoil and concerns from retailers and business groups, Mr. Trump postponed imposing additional tariffs on some Chinese consumer goods until after the start of the Christmas shopping season. He also floated the idea of cutting payroll taxes to goose the economy, only to reverse himselfa day later with a declaration that the economy was plenty “strong.” Responding to back-to-back gun massacres, the president vowed to push for “sensible, important background checks” — until the National Rifle Association voiced its displeasure. At that point, Mr. Trump’s resolve wilted faster than you could say “$30 million in campaign contributions.” Not that he would admit to folding. He instead spent weeks offering rambling comments about possible legislation. The White House is expected to clarify his latest position soon.
Even with issues central to Mr. Trump’s brand, he will now and again give ground. Recall last summer’s policy of separating migrant children from their parents — a move so appalling that even some of the president’s Republican apologists could not stomach it. After six weeks of international uproar, Mr. Trump announced an end to the practice
He executed a similar flip-flop this winter, when Congress’s refusal to give him billions in border wall funding led him to provoke a partial government shutdown. When the public grew grumpy enough about the disruption, the president caved and signed a bill that did not include his desired wall money.
On occasion, Mr. Trump will move to reverse his reversals — or at least find a creative work around. Last month, the administration unveiled a new rule that would do away with the existing 20-day limit on holding migrant children in detention. On Tuesday, it announced that it is diverting $3.6 billion from Defense Department projects toward the construction of the border wall. The future of the medical deferred-action program remains unsettled as well. An agency official told The Times, “Whether a very limited version of deferred action will continue forward at U.S.C.I.S. is still under review.” Clearly, the public needs to continue expressing its preferences.
There are issues on which the president feels compelled to hold his ground. As Hurricane Dorian menaced the Atlantic Coast Sunday, he tweeted a cautionary message to the residents of several Southern states, including Alabama. Dorian was not projected to hit Alabama, which the National Weather Service clarified. Rather than correct himself, Mr. Trump dug in and spent the next several days obsessed with proving that at some point Alabama really had been in danger. The situation reached its absurdity apex when, during a storm briefing Wednesday, he brandished a map showing the likely trajectory of Dorian, which someone appeared to have doctored with a black Sharpie to include a sliver of Alabama. #SharpieGate immediately became the stuff of mocking memesand late-night monologues.
The entire sideshow was reminiscent of when Mr. Trump insistedthat his inauguration crowd in 2017 had been the largest in history. He not only dispatched his aides to peddle this fantasy, but also the National Park Service, responding to White House concerns, cropped official photos of the event to make the crowds look bigger.
More troubling, Mr. Trump’s inability to admit that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 2016 has led him to insist, without evidence, that there was widespread voter fraud in her favor. He even put together an official commission tasked with proving this. It failed. Mr. Trump nonetheless continues to spread this dangerous nonsense
When it comes to protecting his fragile ego, Mr. Trump can be quite firm in his convictions. The rest is subject to influence.
