Donald Trump's 'secret' plans reveal he has no idea what he's talking about

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It seems Donald Trump has the same affinity for secrets as a preteen. In their impressive list detailing all the times Donald Trump has changed his mind since June, The Washington Post also included a couple moments when Trump bowed out of answering questions directly because he has "secrets," including that time he refused to reveal his plan to defeat ISIS to The Des Moines Register because "everyone else is going to say 'Wow, what a great idea.'"

As it turns out, Trump might like secrets more than he actually likes thinking about policy. In listing his contradictions, The Washington Post suggests Trump's problem might actually be that he has no clue what he's talking about in the first place. One example:

Version #2: [Secret plan]Bill O'Reilly, Fox News Channel: "Are you telling me you are going to send American ground troops into Syria?"Trump: "I'm not telling you anything." (June 16)Version #3: No longer secret. Send in American ground troops."I will tell you what my plan will be…You have to go in. You have to go in."O'Reilly: "With ground troops?""Well, you bomb the hell out of them and then you encircle it, and then you go in." (June 16, shortly after Version #2).Version #4: Maybe don't.O'Reilly: "There's no way you can defeat them without invading."Trump: "I disagree." (June 16, minutes after #3). [Washington Post]

That's the tricky thing about secrets, after all: In order to actually have one, you need to have an idea worth keeping mum about in the first place.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.