It would seem that in regards to immigration policies, Donald Trump has experienced a rapid and extreme change in opinions that project an overall image of inconsistency, be it for positive change or a surrender to his party’s needs. In June of 2015, Trump stated, “They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists,” in regards to the Mexican people, specifically those who are illegal immigrants. Since then, he has softened to a large degree despite his plan for Mexico to build a wall on the border. He had spoken of mass deportation, but then rescinded this by saying that perhaps this would not be the case for ‘Dreamers,’ teens and young adults whose parents brought them here in hopes of a brighter future. Then, in mid-August, his campaign manager Kellyanne Conway stated that “he is not talking about a deportation force.” Trump’s most current statements on deportation forces reflect the opposite of his campaign manager’s. On Aug. 31, he made a statement during a rally in Phoenix, AZ on policies “focused on identifying and quickly removing the most dangerous criminal illegal aliens in America.”

Similarly, Trump has a variety of recorded statements about his proposed Muslim ban. In Dec. 2015, Donald Trump expressed need for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the United States. He later revised this statement to exclude Muslims serving in the U.S. military. This June, however, he expanded his statement about the Muslim ban to include all countries deemed to be “terror countries” using the words ”Muslim” and “terror” synonymously. That same day, Trump’s campaign spokesperson, Hope Hicks, stated that the ban would only apply to Muslims from places with a history of terrorist activities. Most recently, however, Trump’s campaign is proposing a ban not just on people who practice Islam, but also people from countries where Islam is practiced that have a history of terrorism. A specific statement on the implications of this ban for countries who meet the Muslim and terror requirements but with whom the U.S. maintains amicable relations (i.e. Germany, France) has not been made.

Last year, Trump seemed to lean a bit left in regards to taxes. He said that he “know[s] people making a tremendous amount of money and paying virtually no taxes, and I think it’s unfair.” Conversely, he stated a few months after that in January of 2016 that he “[tries] and pay as little tax as possible, because [he] hate[s] what they do with [his] tax money.” He compared his policy change from liberal to conservative to that of Ronald Reagan’s stating that though Reagan changed his mind, he ultimately became a great president. After this comparison, he again expressed support for increasing taxes on the wealthy. Later he redacted statements in which he supported a tax increase on the wealthy stating, “I said that I may have to increase on the wealthy – I’m not going to allow it to be increased on the middle class – now, if I increase it on the wealthy, that means they’re still going to be paying less than they’re paying now. I’m not increasing it from this point, I’m talking about increasing from my tax proposal.” For those who are heavily interested in tax cuts and reform, it is best to check Trump’s policies at least every other day for his most up to-date opinions on the topic.

Though today Trump describes himself as a pro-life child advocate, in 1999 he called himself “very pro-choice.” Putting forward a face to his commitment to bettering the lives of children, Trump recently posed for a picture with his supporters’ babies at an event in Colorado. On abortion in an interview with MSNBC this March, Trump stated that he believed that “there should be some sort of punishment” for women who violated his proposed ban on abortions. Soon after the interview Trump changed his idea for a ban and expressed that “it should be put back into the states for consideration.” 80 minutes after making his statement about abortion being a states’ issue, Trump redacted his previous claims stating, “the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman.” Trump’s most current policies, however, include a ban on abortion in all cases.

While Trump’s statements seem inconsistent at face-value, it must be noted that because it is his first time running for a political office, Trump is still learning how to comply to a party’s agenda and needs during the course of an election. Regardless of the media’s interpretation of Trump, he is a presidential candidate and must, therefore, be judged solely on his statements and policies regardless of their ever-changing nature.