What does President Trump really believe?
Does he want to run for a third term, or is that just a joke? Does he intend to seize control of Gaza and expel millions of Palestinians, or is that just a suggestion? Is Black History Month a waste of time and money, or worth a lavish celebration at White House?
Anyone looking for definitive answers will have a hard time finding them.
Since storming back into office, Mr. Trump has used a dizzying rhetorical tactic of shifting positions like quicksand, muddying his messages and contradicting himself, sometimes in the same day. The inconsistencies have presented the American public with dueling narratives at every turn, allowing people to pick and choose what they want to believe about the president’s intentions.
Mr. Trump has long dealt in distortions and lies, including in his first term. But as he executes a much more aggressive agenda at home and abroad, his contradictions have become more brazen and more pronounced.
“He says so much, you can’t really pin him down,” said Julian E. Zelizer, a Princeton history professor and editor of a book of essays about Mr. Trump’s first term. “The point isn’t to have a contradiction, the point is to have cover.”
“The reality of our modern information world is that you can pick and choose what you want to believe,” Mr. Zelizer added. “He instinctively knows that.”
Within hours of taking office, Mr. Trump pardoned Jan. 6 rioters who assaulted Capitol Police officers, a move that clashed with his professed support for law enforcement.
