川普政策轉變顯示其施政向溫和演進

On the campaign trail, candidate Donald Trump called NATO "obsolete." This week, with the NATO secretary general standing next to him at a White House news conference, President Trump did a complete 180 degree reversal, saying, "It's no longer obsolete."

Candidate Trump regularly denounced China as a currency manipulator. But days after his summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Trump said the exact opposite. "They're not currency manipulators," he told The Wall Street Journal.

These and other presidential policy zigzags are the talk of Washington's political elites. The Washington Post recently declared Trump "the king of flip flops." There is almost daily commentary arguing that the first weeks of his presidency have revealed a leader with a weak understanding of geopolitics, struggling with critical issues such as the workings of the NATO alliance. "He's been mugged by reality," one commentator said.

In an article published Thursday, however, the Post noted that the president appears to be flip-flopping with more moderation as he gains experience.

On issue after issue in the past 12 weeks, Trump's views have evolved away from campaign rhetoric to more nuanced positions that reflect the responsibilities of office, according to Dan Mahaffee, senior vice president and director of policy at Washington's Center for the study of the Presidency and Congress. "Many presidents would say campaigning is one art and governing is another," he told VOA.川普在去年競選期間稱北約“老舊過時”。本週，他與北約祕書長在白宮舉行聯合記者會，川普總統對北約的態度來了一個180度的轉變，表示“北約不再過時”。

作爲總統候選人的川普，經常譴責中國是貨幣匯率操縱國。但與中國國家主席習近平舉行峯會幾天後，川普總統態度截然相反地告訴華爾街日報說，“他們不是貨幣匯率操縱國。”

諸如上述這類總統政策的搖擺變化，是華盛頓政治精英熱議的話題。華盛頓郵報最近稱川普總統是“變臉王”。該報幾乎每天都有評論，稱川普在就任總統的最初幾周時間裏，已經顯示出他是一位對地緣政治知之甚少、在諸如與北約盟國一道合作等關鍵問題上時常糾結的領導人。一位評論員說，“他已經被現實弄得焦頭爛額。”

不過，華盛頓郵報星期四發表的一篇文章指出，川普總統隨着經驗的增加，變化更加溫和剋制。

設在華盛頓的總統與國會研究中心高級副總裁兼政策主任丹·馬哈非表示，在過去12周時間裏，在一個又一個議題上，川普總統的觀點已經從競選論調演變爲更加反映其總統職責的色調。他對美國之音說，“很多總統都說，競選是一門藝術，執政是另外一種藝術。”