Whiplash week of Trump – POLITICO

President Donald Trump has presented a series of staggering political positions this week, contradicting his aids and even himself several times over gun control, tax cuts and his interest in the law. purchase of Greenland.

Trump is no stranger to whiplash-inducing policy changes that leave his congressional advisers and allies out of breath. And it is common knowledge that he often repeats the talking points of the last person he spoke to on any sensitive subject.

History continues below

But Trump's recent reversals have been remarkable for their unbridled pace and considerable impact, as they let lawmakers, foreign leaders and voters scratch their heads.

Below you will find the most remarkable comments from Trump and his staff on the changing situation at the White House:

TAX REDUCTIONS

August 18: National Economics Council Director Larry Kudlow emphasized Trump's mid-term pledge to enact a new round of tax cuts for the middle class, said in a statement. Fox News Sunday ": they are on the table:" We are looking. Tax reductions 2.0. We watch all that.

August 19th: The Washington Post reported that some White House members were discussing a temporary reduction in the payroll in order to save the economy. The White House officially rejects this suggestion in a statement: [National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow] said yesterday, there is no doubt that other tax cuts for the American people are on the table, but the reduction of payroll taxes is not envisaged at the moment. "

20 August: Trump contradicts his aides, confirming to the journalists of the Oval Office that he is considering, among other things, a reduction in social charges.

"We have been talking about indexing for a long time. And many people like indexing, and this can be done very simply, this can be done directly by me. We looked at that, "he says. "We are talking about indexation and we are still interested in the capital gains tax, the payroll tax. We are looking at – I would love to do something about capital gains, we are talking about it, it's a big problem, going through Congress. We think of the payroll, which many people would like to see. "

21st of August: Trump spills over, telling reporters outside the White House: "I do not think of a tax break now. We do not need it, we have a strong economy. Certainly a reduction of social charges. President Obama has done it to revive the economy artificially. "

GUNS

5 August: A day after the consecutive Texas and Ohio massacres that killed 31 people and injured dozens of others, Trump expressed support for a "thorough background check". l & # 39; writing on Twitter, "we can not let those who have been killed in El Paso, Texas, and in Dayton, Ohio, die in vain."

August 7th: Trump reiterates its support for advancing some kind of background check legislation.

"I'm trying to do background checks. I think background checks are important, "he told reporters before asking Congress to come back from the August break. "I do not want to put guns in the hands of mentally unstable people or angry or hateful people, sick people. I do not want to, I'm totally in favor of that. "

August 9th: The president predicts that the NRA will respond to its call for a background check, telling reporters, "We have tremendous support for truly meaningful, sensitive and important background checks."

August 13th: Despite his reluctance to pass Senate background checks, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is in favor of strengthening them, says Trump.

"I think Mitch – and I can tell you that, from my point of view, I would like to see some useful background checks. And I think something will happen.

August 15th: The President begins to withdraw from the issue of background checks, moving to mental health when asked for an update on progress.

"I talked to everyone about it. And we do not want fools to have guns, "he told reporters before the campaign rally. "But I also want to remember that no one wants to talk about mental illness. These people have mental illness and we need to study that as well. "

Nevertheless, in response to a question about whether he supports universal background checks, Trump says he supports "thorough and meaningful audits".

August 18: Trump is even more reluctant when he talks with reporters about his return to Washington after an extended stay in his club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

"Congress is watching it very closely. Bipartisan, "he says. However, he adds, "I am also very much concerned about the second amendment, more than most presidents would be. People do not realize that we have a very good background check right now. "

20 August: Trump suggests supporting a more progressive background screening bill, departing from the general language he had used even a week earlier and beginning to warn of any "slippery slope" in gun control .

"We have a very good background check, but we have some sort of missing areas, areas that do not complete the whole circle," he told reporters. "And we are looking at different things. I have to tell you it's a mental problem – and I said it a hundred times, it's not the weapon that pulls the trigger, it's the person who supports it. "

According to the Atlantic, Trump calls Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA, at some point in the afternoon to inform him that universal background checks are not up to date. #################################################################################### 39, agenda.

21st of August: Trump again moderates his rhetoric on background checks, insisting that he always has "an appetite for background checks" and promising that "we will conduct background checks." We work with the Democrats. We work with Republicans. And we already have very strong background checks. But we will fill some gaps. "

The President denied denying LaPierre that he no longer intended to pursue the issue and was opposed to journalists, noting that his "slippery slope" language echoed the arguments of the gun lobby.

"We have background checks, but there are gaps in the background checks. That's what I told the NRA yesterday, "he said. "They want to get rid of the loopholes as well as I do. At the same time, I do not want to take away people's rights in the second amendment. "

GREENLAND

August 15th: The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump has repeatedly referred to the idea of ​​buying Greenland, the semi-autonomous Arctic island that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. According to the Journal, we do not know how serious Trump is about such an acquisition.

August 16: Greenland responds brutally to Trump. The foreign ministry of the territory tweeted: "We are open to trade, but we are not for sale."

August 18: Trump confirms that he has carefully thought about buying Greenland, telling reporters that "the concept was mentioned and I said," Certainly, I would. Strategically, it's interesting, and we'd be interested. He adds, "This is not the number 1 on the burner, I can tell you. "

He notes that he could have a trip to Denmark on the calendar and says that Denmark is losing hundreds of millions of dollars with Greenland.

August 19th: Trump publishes a photo of a Greenland village with the Trump Tower superimposed on Twitter. "I promise not to do that in Greenland!" He writes.

20 August: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen calls Trump's eyes on Greenland "absurd".

"Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not Danish. Greenland belongs to Greenland. I strongly hope that does not mean seriously, "she told Sermitsiaq newspaper. "It's an absurd discussion and [Greenland Premier] Kim Kielsen made it clear that Greenland was not for sale. This is where the conversation ends. "

In response, Trump abruptly cancels his next trip to Copenhagen.

"Denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on the comments of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, stating that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will postpone our scheduled meeting for another two weeks, "he said. in a tweet, thanking Frederiksen for saving "a lot of spending and effort for the United States and Denmark being so direct".

21st of August: Trump intensifies his arguments with Frederiksen, rejecting his comments as "bad guys".

"Greenland was just an idea, just a thought," he told reporters. "I thought that the Prime Minister's statement that it was" absurd ", that it was an" absurd "idea, was nasty. I thought it was an inappropriate statement. All she had to do was say, "No, we would not be interested."

Trump complains about visiting Denmark and says he is not the first US president to consider buying Greenland.

"This has been discussed for many years. Harry Truman had the idea of ​​Greenland. I had the idea, other people had the idea. It goes back to the early 1900s. But Harry Truman strongly thought it was a good idea, I think it's a good idea because Denmark loses $ 700 million a year with that. It does not do them any good, "he says.