POLITICS
SEP 7 2016, 3:47 PM ET
A Full List of Donald Trump's Rapidly Changing Policy Positions
byJANE C. TIMM
After a year of campaigning, hundreds of interviews, stadium rallies, and press conferences, it is still difficult to glean a platform from the Republican nominee's powerfully incoherent rhetoric and constantly evolving views.
Donald Trump changes his mind so frequently and so dramatically that a compilation of his current policies would not tell the whole story, nor would it be up to date for very long — he once offered up three different views on abortion in eight hours. By mixing facts with exaggerations and outright falsehoods in hundreds of interviews while simultaneously refusing to offer specifics — insisting that unpredictability is an advantage he'll use to cut better deals — Trump and the Republican Party that's nominated him are putting forward the most elusive presidential platform in modern history.
To wit: This list features 117 distinct policy shifts on 20 major issues, tracking only his reversals since he announced his candidacy on June 16, 2015.
PlayFacebook
Consider the Muslim ban. Every time Trump and his team describes one of his most polarizing and defining policy positions, it is couched differently, making it impossible to determine how and to what degree Trump would implement such a thing if elected president. Initially, it was a full and complete ban on all Muslims; later, it was described as a ban that excluded citizens, members of the U.S. military, and Trump's good friends. These days, it's often described a ban on Muslims and people coming from countries with a history of terrorism —more than a third of the world, including major U.S. allies like France. On Monday, Trump said he hadn't actually limited his initial ban — he'd expanded it — but just didn't want to say it was about Muslims. Meanwhile, his campaign insists that the policy has not changed at all.
Many of the policies the candidate has put forward conflict with the party's own platform, leaving supporters and down-ballot candidates to do verbal gymnastics around them in order to present a unified front behind their candidate. Take Trump's flip-flop on how to approach the national debt. A desire to rapidly pay down the national debt is one of the only issues the divided Republican Party can agree on, but their nominee made a bold argument for prioritizing infrastructure investment over the debt this spring, though he later changed his mind on that too.
"You have to have a certain degree of flexibility," the nominee said in a March debate when confronted on his evolving policy platform, taking a stance on immigration he'd reverse hours later. "You can't say, it's OK, and then you find out it's not OK and you don't want to do anything. You have to be flexible, because you learn."
In order to better understand what the Republican Party nominee believes today — and yesterday — this list offers a look at the billionaire real estate mogul's views since he announced his candidacy a year ago, along with any explanation the candidate has offered on the changes.
IMMIGRATION
1. Build a wall, deport all undocumented immigrants.
Trump's campaign began with apromise to build a wall across the United States' southern borderand deport the country's 11 million undocumented immigrant.
2. Deport all undocumented immigrants but bring the 'good' ones back legally.
In a CNN interview in July2015, Trump said, "I want to move them out, and we're going to move them back in and let them be legal, but they have to be in here legally."
PlayFacebook
3. Build the wall, deport criminals, triple the number of ICE officers, end birthright citizenship.
In August 2015, Trump released a detailed, sprawlingimmigration planthat included a wide variety of ideas: Build the wall, make Mexico pay for it, deport criminal aliens, enhance penalties for overstaying visas, triple the number of ICE officers, pause immigration to try and employ unemployed Americans, cut worker visas and more. Trump's plan didn't detail how he'd enact most of his proposals, or how he'd pay for them. He's walked back or modified much of it since.
4. Use a deportation force to implement policy.
In November 2015, Trump said he'd use a mass deportation force in order to remove the 11 million people.
"You're going to have a deportation force. And your going to do it humanely," Trump said in November on MSNBC.
5. Trump might be flexible on actually deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants.
BuzzFeed reported in February 2016 that in off-the-record talks withThe New York Times, Trump admitted this was just bluster and a starting point for negotiations, saying he might not deport the undocumented immigrants as he's promised. Trump has refused calls to release the transcript, despite furious requests from his rival candidates.
6. Deport undocumented immigrants, but don't call it "mass deportations."
"President Obama has mass deported vast numbers of people — the most ever, and it's never reported. I think people are going to find that I have not only the best policies, but I will have the biggest heart of anybody," Trump told Bloomberg News in June 2016 when pressed about his immigration policies.
When asked more about how he'd characterize the deportations at the center of his immigration policy, Trump said he "would not call it mass deportations."
6. A deportation force is "TBD."
Trump's newly hired campaign manager dodgedquestions on the deportation forcein August 2016 before saying that Trump's much-talked about deportation force from the primary was "to be determined."
7. "I'm gonna do the same" as past presidents.
Trump championed President Obama's immigration strategy — deporting criminals first — in an interview with Fox News on Monday, August 22 when asked about how he'd deport 11 million illegal immigrants. He declined to answer questions of how he'd handle those who aren't criminals.
8. I'm open to "softening."
The next day, Trump told attendees of a town hall hosted by Fox News in Texas that he was open to "softening" laws to help immigrants already living in the United States peacefully. However, he followed that by saying that those who had overstayed visas — one of the key ways undocumented immigrants get into the U.S. — had to leave. "You have to get them out. You have to get them out," Trump said.
It's unclear what or how he's softening his policy.
9. "There's no amnesty" but "we work with them."
In an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity that aired Wednesday, August 24, Trump outlined an immigration plan that sounded an awful lot like the kind of path to legalization championed by Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio — the very people Trump excoriated for weak immigration plans while he campaigned on a promise of mass deportations.
"No citizenship. Let me go a step further — they'll pay back-taxes, they have to pay taxes, there's no amnesty, as such, there's no amnesty, but we work with them," Trump said.
10. Deport "criminal illegal immigrants" within one hour of being sworn in.
Trump worked to sound strong on illegal immigration at an event in Iowa on Saturday, August 27 — even if he was simply presenting a warp-speed version of current policy.
"On day one, I am going to begin swiftly removing criminal illegal immigrants from this country," hesaid. "We are going to get rid of the criminals, and it will happen within one hour" of being sworn in.
Trump did not discuss how he would approach the millions of other undocumented immigrants, nor did he explain how he could accomplish implementing current policy so quickly.
11. What's the plan again?
On Sunday, August 28, three Trump surrogates took to the airwaves to insist that Trump's immigration plan hadn't changed. But their answers on what that plan actually was — and is — only added to the confusion.
Running mate Gov. Mike Pence said there would be no path to citizenship, while Gov. Chris Christie said there would be no legalization at all. Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway dodged answering the question completely — simply saying he'd be humane.
"The question is what to do," she said.
12. A deportation force is not currently being discussed.
Conway built on her interview from a week ago when she said a deportation force was to be decided by saying it wasn't presently being discussed.
"He is not talking about a deportation force," she said.
13. The plan — whatever the plan is — has never changed.
"Absolutely consistent," said Pence.
"Completely consistent," said Christie.
"Pretty consistent," said Conway.
14. Deport all undocumented immigrants in due time, using a deportation force.
Two more surrogates muddled Trump's immigration policy on Tuesday.
Son Donald Trump, Jr. told CNN on August 30 that his father hoped to deport everyone.
"That's been the same, correct. But again, you have to start with baby steps. You have to let ICE do their job, you have to eliminate sanctuary cities, you have to get rid of the criminals certainly first and foremost, you have to secure the border. These are common sense things, Anderson," he said.
Meanwhile, Trump surrogate Jack Kingston told MSNBC that a deportation force "is part of it. We are going to learn more Wednesday."
15. Don't worry, hardliners. There's no amnesty and Mexico will pay!
In a speech in Phoenix on September 1 Trump eased base concerns and re-upped his harsh immigration rhetoric by insisting that he would create a deportation task force, and there would be no "amnesty."
Mere hours after meeting with the Mexican president who later said he'd told Trump that Mexico wouldn't pay for the wall, Trump reiterated that he still planned to make Mexico pay for the wall.
16. But "there's really quite a bit of softening."
Later the day, Trump was pressed by conservative commentator Laura Ingraham about what had happened to "the softening" of his policy. He said "there's softening," but didn't indicate what, exactly, was softening.
"Look, we do it in a very humane way, and we're going to see with the people that are in the country. Obviously I want to get the gang members out, the drug peddlers out, I want to get the drug dealers out. We've got a lot of people in this country that you can't have, and those people we'll get out," Trump said. "And then we're going to make a decision at a later date once everything is stabilized ... I think you're going to see there's really quite a bit of softening."
17. I won't rule out a path to citizenship.
Asked September 6 if he'd rule out a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, Trump declined.
"I'm not ruling out anything," Trump said. "We're going to make that decision into the future. OK?"
Current position:Trump says he will deport millions, but he has not ruled out creating a pathway to citizenship. Despite immigration being the GOP nominee's signature issue, his policy position is still extremely unclear.
YOUNG UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS AND CHILDREN OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
1. Dreamers can maybe stay.
Trump wavered on what to do with the Dreamers — young undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country by their parents as children who are now afforded limited protection from deportation via the DREAM Act but no path to citizenship.
When asked if Dreamers would have to go back, he said, "It depends."
2. Nope, they can't stay.
By August 2015, that ambiguity was gone: "They have to go," he said on "Meet the Press."
3. End birthright citizenship.
Trump first proposed ending the 14th Amendment — the Constitutional provision that grants citizenship to those born in the country — last August. This is something few in his party agree on, and it's even more unclear how it would be applied: Does it apply to children of mixed status parents, where one parent is illegal? Or simply those with two undocumented immigrant parents? Would he revoke the citizenship of the estimated 4.5 million children born to illegal immigrants already here?
The Trump campaign did not answer questions from reportersat the time.
3. "American children" also deserve dreams.
"Where is the sanctuary for American children?" Trump asked during a late August rally while alluding Dreamers.
"The dreamers we never talk about are the young Americans. Why aren't young Americans dreamers also? I want my dreamers to be young Americans," he said, offering up a rhetorical device in place of policy.
Current position:Deport children benefiting for the DREAM Act and repeal the 14th Amendment to end birthright citizenship.
PROPOSED MUSLIM BAN
1. No Muslims should be allowed to enter the United States —as immigrants or visitors.
Donald Trump called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" in a statement about "preventing Muslim immigration" in December.
2. Ban Muslims from entering but make an exception for friends and Muslims serving in the US military.
He later amended his stance in an interview with Fox News, saying the 5,000 Muslims serving the United States military would be exempt from the ban and allowed to return home from overseas deployments. He also suggested that current Muslim residents — like his "many Muslim friends" — would be exempt, too, and able to come and go freely.
3. The Muslim ban was just an suggestion.
"We have a serious problem, and it's a temporary ban - it hasn't been called for yet, nobody's done it, this is just a suggestion until we find out what's going on," Trump said on in mid-May, softening for the first time in months on the ban.
4. Ban Muslims as a matter of policy, as well as people from countries with a history of terrorism.
In a national security address after the terror attack in Orlando, Trump said that if he's elected he would "suspend immigration from areas of the world where there's a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies until we fully understand how to end these threats."
5. Ban people from countries with a history of terrorism.
When a reporter asked Trump how he'd feel about a Muslim Scot entering the U.S. while on a trip to visit his golf courses in Scotland, Trump said it "wouldn't bother me." He then went on to emphasize that he did not want "people coming in from the terror countries." When asked, Trump would not name one such country.
6. Ban Muslims from countries with a history of terrorism, and potentially also other Muslims.
That same day, when pressed about how this statement in Scotland jived with Trump's proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the country, spokesman Hope Hicks said that the ban would just apply to Muslims from countries with a history of terrorism. She would not, however, confirm that Muslims residing in peaceful countries would be exempt. NBC News has asked for further clarification.
7. The Muslim ban was never about Muslims.
The next week, one spokesperson wrongly said the initial ban was not about Muslims.
"I know the news media has been reporting that the initial ban was against all Muslims, and that simply was not the case. It's simply for Muslim immigration, and Mr. Trump is adding specifics to clarify what his position is," Katrina Pierson told CNN, though advisers at the time said itwas indeed about religionexclusively.
8. Nothing has changed, nothing to see here.
"This is not accurate," spokesperson Hope Hicks said when asked if the policies were changing and removing the word "Muslim." "There has been no change from the exchanges over the weekend."
9. The ban is negotiable.
Campaign manager Paul Manafort in late May said the Muslim ban was negotiable, and how Trump initially articulated it was not what it would turn out in the end. Manafort said the policy is currently that "where there is terrorist activity — Syria or Iraq — we will temporarily suspend immigration until we can establish a vetting system in which we can identify who people are who are coming in."
The government already has a rigorous,nine-step vettingprocess in place for refugees. Trump has previously included all Syrian refugees, including children and non-Muslims, in the ban.
10. The ban would call for "extreme vetting."
Mid July,Trump told"60 Minutes" that people from suspicious "territories" would receive "a thing called 'extreme vetting.'" He did not describe how "extreme vetting" would differ from the current vetting process.
"Call it whatever you want," Trump told CBS when asked if he was changing his previously released policy.
11. The ban hasn't changed, I just don't like saying the word "Muslim."
On Fox Newsin late July, Trump told Sean Hannity his position hadn't changed from his initial ban on Muslims entering the country.
"I think my position's gotten bigger, I'm talking about territories now. People don't want me to say Muslim—I guess I'd prefer not saying it, frankly, myself. So we're talking about territories."
12. There's a ban, plus "extreme vetting" that includes an ideological test.
"The time is overdue to develop a new screening test for the threats we face today," Trump said in a speech in mid-August that reiterated his call for "extreme vetting" and reiterated that he'd temporarily ban immigration from some countries that he declined to identify.