Flip-flopper in chief? Trump’s biggest U-turns
The US president, who sent markets reeling with his on-again off-again tariffs, has changed his tune on issues from TikTok to abortion
US President Donald Trump, whose dramatic reversal on global trade tariffs sent markets reeling this week, is no stranger to the U-turn. Here are some notable examples.
TikTok ban
At the end of his first term, Trump unsuccessfully tried to ban social media network TikTok, accusing the popular platform of siphoning American user data for Beijing’s benefit.
But on the campaign trail in 2024, while courting Gen Z votes, Trump said “I like TikTok” and declared: “I’m going to save TikTok.”
He now says he is close to a deal for TikTok to find a non-Chinese buyer who would take it from its Chinese owner ByteDance to avoid it getting shut down in the United States.
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TikTok is back online as Donald Trump vows executive order to temporarily block ban
Abortion rights
When it comes to the thorny issue of abortion rights, Trump has changed on his position over the past 25 years.
“I am very pro-choice,” he said in 1999, stating his opposition to banning abortion.
Trump changed his tune during the 2016 presidential campaign while courting the votes of evangelical Christians, and called for “some form of punishment” for women who seek abortion. In office, he is a staunch opponent of abortion.
Russia ties
During Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, he advocated for better relations with Moscow, but that stance quietened as accusations arose around Russia’s election interference in his favour.