Within hours, Trump completely flips positions on China, NATO, trade

President Trump flip-flops
(Image credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, President Trump publicly contradicted several long-stated policy views, bringing his stances more in line with Washington orthodoxy.

Meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Trump said of the military alliance: "I said it was obsolete. It's no longer obsolete." A week after calling China the "world champion" of currency manipulation, a common refrain on the campaign trail, he told The Wall Street Journal, "They're not currency manipulators." Trump also shifted positions on the U.S. Export-Import Bank, telling The Journal it's actually "a very good thing, and it actually makes money," including for smaller companies. He also suggested he might re-appoint Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, whom he has previously criticized. This all comes a week after Trump appeared to abandon his campaign views about foreign intervention by bombing a Syrian government air base.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.