川普政策转变显示其施政向温和演进

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.

川普在去年竞选期间称北约“老旧过时”。本周，他与北约秘书长在白宫举行联合记者会，川普总统对北约的态度来了一个180度的转变，表示“北约不再过时”。

作为总统候选人的川普，经常谴责中国是货币汇率操纵国。但与中国国家主席习近平举行峰会几天后，川普总统态度截然相反地告诉华尔街日报说，“他们不是货币汇率操纵国。”

诸如上述这类总统政策的摇摆变化，是华盛顿政治精英热议的话题。华盛顿邮报最近称川普总统是“变脸王”。该报几乎每天都有评论，称川普在就任总统的最初几周时间里，已经显示出他是一位对地缘政治知之甚少、在诸如与北约盟国一道合作等关键问题上时常纠结的领导人。一位评论员说，“他已经被现实弄得焦头烂额。”

不过，华盛顿邮报星期四发表的一篇文章指出，川普总统随着经验的增加，变化更加温和克制。

设在华盛顿的总统与国会研究中心高级副总裁兼政策主任丹·马哈非表示，在过去12周时间里，在一个又一个议题上，川普总统的观点已经从竞选论调演变为更加反映其总统职责的色调。他对美国之音说，“很多总统都说，竞选是一门艺术，执政是另外一种艺术。”