Get to Know Donald Trump’s Ever-Changing Policy Positions

It’s probably best to think about Donald Trump’s policy positions like a leaf on the wind. A soaring leaf is always headed gleefully and irrevocably in one direction, until a new gust of wind sends it flying equally as stalwart on a brand new course. Trump and his positions are like that leaf–he’s never more than one hundred percent committed to an idea, until the tides of public sentiment force him to switch course and become one hundred percent committed to a more popular idea. Since Donald Trump won the American Presidential election on November 8, he’s made no shortage of big statements about his intentions once he takes the Oval Office. The issue is that his new statements don’t exactly line up with his campaign promises. With all the Donald’s double-talk, it can be tough to figure out where he lands on a lot of big issues. Here’s our best guess.

1. A Quick Note About the Wall

On the “Positions” page of donaldjtrump.com, there are exactly two issues addressed. The first is simply titled, “Pay for the Wall,” a reference to Trump’s long-held belief that Mexico will financially support the building of a wall along the US-Mexico border. For the time being, it seems as though Trump has not abandoned this plan. There are some who have abandoned it though. Namely, the Mexican government. Though there is a wish to cooperate with America’s new president, Mexico’s foreign minister, Claudia Ruiz Massieu, told reporters, “Paying for a wall is not part of our vision.” In short: Trump can stick to this plan all he wants, but it’s not happening.

2. Trump Isn’t Really Anti-Immigration

A lot of Trump’s critics during the election liked to throw around buzzwords like “racist” when talking about the GOP candidate’s position on immigration. Perhaps that had something to do with the fact that he famously insinuated that a lot of Mexican immigrants were rapists and criminals. Who knows? Liberals are so picky. These days, Trump is dedicated to deporting millions, but he’s also ready to allow a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

3. Mr. Trump and the People of Islam

Hey, remember that silly time when the GOP candidate campaigned on a promise to bar any Muslims from entering the country? Let’s forget the fact that this plan runs completely counter to the entire premise of American society — am I the only one who remembers learning about the freaking Melting Pot? — and just focus on what Trump plans to actually do about a section of society that is overwhelmingly a positive contribution to the country. Closer to the election, Trump proclaimed, “The Muslim ban is something that in some form has morphed into extreme vetting from certain areas of the world.” No word on what countries those would be or what exactly “extreme vetting” would be (but it’s probably not comfortable).

4. Plans For Tackling ISIS

At the moment, the United States’ policy regarding Middle East terrorist movement ISIS, has been largely hands off (at least for us). Mr. Trump, however, campaigned on a promise of turning lots of sand into lots of glass. It’s got to be a good plan, because Trump has publicly stated that he knows more about ISIS than the generals do. At the moment, Trump continues to play his cards close to the vest on his war plan, but there’s a good bet it will be tremendous and filled with winning.

5. Trump Wouldn’t Want to Nuke Someone, But He Wouldn’t Rule it Out

Here’s an issue where Trump has danced on both sides of the line. Early in his campaign, he claimed that he would never need to use a nuclear device on an opponent. He’s also repeatedly said that he thinks nuclear proliferation is a huge problem facing the world. That’s comforting, admittedly. Of course, he’s also ominously stated, “I don’t want to rule out anything,” just after he declared that he’d be the last person to press the big, red button. Ultimately though, it looks like Trump is hoping to pump serious steroids into the United States’ military, in the hopes of dissuading would-be attackers. So yay for no nukes and. . . other emotions for an escalation of arms.

6. Fun With Kenyan Origin Stories

Throughout the Obama Presidency, Donald Trump was a leading proponent of the birther movement. For almost eight years, he would never pass up the opportunity to claim that the President of the United States was born in Kenya, and had only achieved his office through a vast international socialist conspiracy. Then, in September, he claimed he was duped into the belief by Hillary Clinton. Since winning the election, he’s adopted more of a “who cares I’m President now” kind of vibe about the whole issue. Can you blame him?

7. Minimum Wage Might Go Up a Little Bit

Early on, Trump went hard-line conservative and argued adamantly against raising the minimum wage even remotely. In fact, at one point he actually claimed that the current minimum wage of $7.25 an hour was actually too high. That put proponents of a standard $15 minimum wage at something of a loss. Over the course of his campaign however, Trump has warmed up to the idea of raising the minimum wage, going so far as to tell reporters that he’d happily support a $10 an hour standard minimum wage. That would impact way more states than you think, as most states actually pay their employees the national minimum or slightly above. Except Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi which all somehow get away without having a minimum wage.

8. Trump’s Vision For the Future of Healthcare

The second and final issue addressed on Trump’s “Positions” page is Healthcare Reform. Another of Trump’s platform points was his pledge to dismantle Obamacare, which he calls an “incredible economic burden” on the American people. This promise is a little loaded actually, because since the election, Trump has maintained that he will not repeal or defund Obamacare without having a replacement ready to go. At the very least, that means years of legislation, debate, media involvement, and all that crap. In short: this one seems like a real long shot.

9. Trump Really Cares About Lowering Taxes, Provided You Make Enough Money

Trump’s frequent claims that his tax policy will benefit the working American are going to be put to the test in the coming years. The politician began his career saying that the rich deserved a tax increase. From there, he pledged to slash as much as $10 trillion in national taxes. Then it became $3 trillion. Then $1. . . no, no, slashing taxes is the wrong way to go folks, let’s talk about new tax brackets! At the moment, his current stance (and plans) are unclear, however, post-election, video leaked of Trump telling his rich buddies, “We’ll get your taxes down don’t worry about it.” So at least some people have something to look forward to right? Yay for rich white dudes!