Donald Trump spent his first two weeks as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee changing his stances on a number of policy issues, sometimes multiple times. That got an interesting defense from one of his senior advisers on Friday. Speaking on a panel on CNN, Barry Bennett, a senior political adviser to the Trump campaign, defended Trump’s waffling by saying that anything he puts forward is “a suggestion to Congress,” noting that “he has to persuade Congress to do it and all he can try to do is persuade Congress to go along with him.” When a fellow panelist pointed out in response, “Typically, words matter,” Bennett had a strange response. “Oh please, this words matter stuff. This is ridiculous,” he said. “You are looking desperately for a reason not to vote for him.”
It was as predictable as it is dishonest and disingenuous: Donald Trump spent the GOP primary process trying to “out-Conservative” his competition. He worked hard to show that he hated immigrants, minorities, the LGBT community, and [insert name of despised class here] more than the other occupants of the GOP clown car. He had to be more anti-everything and pro-Jesus than anyone else in order to convince slash-and-burn Right-wing primary voters he’d eagerly force their narrow, hateful agenda on all Americans. Now he’s furiously tacking back to the political center in an effort to be all things to all voters.
With the nomination comfortably secured, The Donald must now figure out how to appeal to the wider, more moderate electorate who will go to the polls in November. Oddly enough, fire-and-brimstone politics don’t much appeal to the majority of Americans. This means Trump is having to back off some of his previous positions in order to recast himself as a man of the people (or, as it’s known to some wags, “all things to all sheeple”). In the trade, this is called “lying.”
So Trump is virulently anti-abortion and believes women seeking to terminate a pregnancy should be burned at the stake? Well, that was then, my friend. NOW he’s all about reproductive health care. He’s fervently anti-gay? No worries; that was SO Iowa Caucuses. Now he’s chattering about personal freedom. He believes America to be a Christian nation and that it should rightly be governed by Biblical principles? Pfft…that’s ancient history (the Texas Primary). Now he’s a firm believer in the separation of Church and State and that one’s religion is one’s own business. At least I think that’s what he’s saying; his positions seem to change daily as needed.
Politicians prevaricate and parse the truth; it’s what they do. That’s hardly breaking news. A Republican Presidential nominee figuring out how to credibly moderate the “show-no-mercy, take-no-prisoners” ideology that won them the nomination is merely a cost of doing business. Worrying about things like honesty and integrity is something lesser mortals do- ivory tower types who don’t have to worry about winning an election.
Words matter? Only if you’re a loser or a Liberal….
