RELIABLE.
NONPARTISAN.
EMPOWERING.
NONPARTISAN.
EMPOWERING.
Candidate Finances
Did You Know?
How to Register to Vote
Lesson Plans: 2020 Election & Beyond
Differences in Conservative and Liberal Brains
The Electoral College: Top 3 Pros and Cons
Coronavirus: Timeline of Comments by Trump and Biden with Context')" href="https://www.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=007115">Coronavirus: Timeline of Comments by Trump and Biden with Context
Election Day National Holiday: Top 3 Pros and Cons
Top Issues for Voters
US Political Parties
Presidential Election History
How to Become the US President
Impeachment Explainer
Order of Presidential Succession
Donald Trump Position Changes  We are not suggesting that position changes are good or bad. We understand they are important to voters, which is why we have included them. We list the current position as Now X (Pro, Con, or Not Clearly Pro or Con) and the former position as Formerly Y (Pro, Con, or Not Clearly Pro or Con). 1  Now Con "The Administration opposes H.R. 582, the Raise the Wage Act... Through its successful pro-growth economic agenda, the Administration has ensured that American workers are taking home bigger paychecks... This strong economy has prompted businesses to remain competitive by raising wages. Compensation is rising at near its fastest pace in a decade. Median household income has reached an all-time high. Wages are also rising faster for production and non-supervisory workers than for workers overall. A $15.00 an hour minimum wage would reverse this economic progress and hurt workers." Source: Office of Budget and Management, "Executive Office of the President, Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 582 – Raise the Wage Act," whitehouse.gov, July 15, 2019 Formerly Pro "Goofy Elizabeth Warren lied when she says I want to abolish the Federal Minimum Wage. See media—asking for increase!” Source: Donald Trump, Twitter post, twitter.com, May 11, 2016 Formerly Con "CHUCK TODD: Minimum wage. Minimum wage. At a debate, you know. You remember what you said. You thought you didn't want to touch it. Now you're open to it. What changed? DONALD TRUMP: ...I have seen what's going on. And I don't know how people make it on $7.25 an hour. Now, with that being said, I would like to see an increase of some magnitude. But I'd rather leave it to the states. Let the states decide. Because don't forget, the states have to compete with each other. So you may have a governor -- CHUCK TODD: Right. You want the fed-- but should the federal government set a floor, and then you let the states-- DONALD TRUMP: No, I'd rather have the states go out and do what they have to do. And the states compete with each other, not only other countries, but they compete with each other, Chuck. So I like the idea of let the states decide. But I think people should get more. I think they're out there. They're working. It is a very low number. You know, with what's happened to the economy, with what's happened to the cost. I mean, it's just-- I don't know how you live on $7.25 an hour. But I would say let the states decide." Source: NBC News, "Meet the Press - May 8, 2016," nbcnews.com, May 8, 2016 Back to present position 2 Now Con "As most people know, and for those who would like to know, I am strongly Pro-Life, with the three exceptions - Rape, Incest and protecting the Life of the mother - the same position taken by Ronald Reagan. We have come very far in the last two years with 105 wonderful new Federal Judges (many more to come), two great new Supreme Court Justices, the Mexico City Policy, and a whole new & positive attitude about the Right to Life. The Radical Left, with late term abortion (and worse), is imploding on this issue. We must stick together and Win for Life in 2020. If we are foolish and do not stay UNITED as one, all of our hard fought gains for Life can, and will, rapidly disappear!" Source: Donald Trump, twitter.com, May 18, 2019 Formerly Not Clearly Pro or Con "And I am pro-life. And if you look at the question, I was in business. They asked me a question as to pro-life or choice. And I said if you let it run, that I hate the concept of abortion. I hate the concept of abortion. And then since then, I've very much evolved. And what happened is friends of mine years ago were going to have a child, and it was going to be aborted. And it wasn't aborted. And that child today is a total superstar, a great, great child. And I saw that. And I saw other instances. And I am very, very proud to say that I am pro-life." Source: Washington Post, "Annotated Transcript: The Aug. 6 GOP Debate," www.washingtonpost.com, Aug. 6, 2015 Formerly Pro Trump: "I'm very pro-choice. I hate the concept of abortion. I hate it. I hate everything it stands for. I cringe when I hear people debating the subject, but, you still, I just believe in choice."" Tim Russert: "But you would not ban it?"" Trump: "No." Source: tpmtv, "Trump on Abortion in 1999," www.youtube.com, Apr. 19, 2011 Back to present position 3 Now Not Clearly Pro or Con Q: "Your position on background checks.” Trump: "So Congress is looking at it very strongly bipartisan. I put in certain parameters, which you somewhat know about. I’m also very very concerned with the Second Amendment. Moreso than most presidents would be. People don’t realize we have very strong background checks right now. You go in to buy a gun, you have to sign up. There are a lot of background checks that have been approved over the years. So I’ll have to see what it is. But Congress is meeting bipartisan. Lot of people want to see something happen. But just remember this big mental problem and we do have a lot of background checks right now.” Q: "So you’re not will to support universal background checks right now?” Trump: "I’m not saying anything. I’m saying Congress is going to be reporting back to me with ideas. And they’ll come in from Democrats and Republicans and I’ll look at it very strongly. But just remember, we already have a lot of background checks.” Source: Zack Ford, "Trump Drops Support for Enhanced Background Checks Two Weeks after Mass Shootings," thinkprogress.org, Aug. 19, 2019 Formerly Pro "We're going to be very strong on background checks. We're going to be doing very strong background checks. Very strong emphasis on the mental health of somebody. And we are going to do plenty of other things." Source: Donald Trump, "Remarks by President Trump and Vice President Pence at Listening Session with Students, Teachers, and Parents," whitehouse.gov, Feb. 22, 2018 [Editor's Note: A week later, then-White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders clarified Trump’s remarks: "Not necessarily universal background checks but certainly improving the background check system. He wants to see what that legislation, the final piece of it looks like. 'Universal' means something different to a lot of people. He certainly wants to focus and improve on the background check system." Source: Aaron Blake, "Sarah Huckabee Sanders Clarifies: Trump Said Lots of Stuff This Week He May Not Mean," washingtonpost.com, Mar. 2, 2018] Back to present position 4 Now Con "The brilliance of the Electoral College is that you must go to many States to win. With the Popular Vote, you go to just the large States - the Cities would end up running the Country. Smaller States & the entire Midwest would end up losing all power - & we can’t let that happen. I used to like the idea of the Popular Vote, but now realize the Electoral College is far better for the U.S.A." Source: Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Mar. 19, 2019 Formerly Pro "The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy." Source: Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Nov. 6, 2012 Back to present position 5 Now Pro "[T]here is one approved outside, non-campaign group, America First Action, which is run by allies of the President and is a trusted supporter of President Trump's policies and agendas." [Editor's Note: The Trump campaign formally endorsed the Super PAC American First Action following reports that other groups were raising money from Trump supporters but not spending all of it on political activities. The Trump campaign encouraged authorities to investigate "alleged scam groups for potential illegal activities."] Source: Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., "Trump Campaign Statement on Dishonest Fundraising Groups," politico.com, May 7, 2019 Formerly Con "All Presidential candidates should immediately disavow their Super PAC’s. They're not only breaking the spirit of the law but the law itself." Source: Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Oct. 26, 2015 Back to present position 6 Now Con "This is truly an extraordinary time for America. Our economy is booming like never before, and our people are thriving... [Y]ou have to vote for me; you have no choice. You’re not going to vote for [Elizabeth Warren], I can tell you that. You’re not going to vote for the wealth tax. 'Yeah, let's take 100 percent of your wealth away.' No, no. Even if you don't like me... And you're going to be my biggest supporters because you'll be out of business in about 15 minutes, if they get it. So I don't have to spend a lot of time on that." Source: Donald Trump, "Remarks by President Trump at the Israeli American Council National Summit 2019," whitehouse.gov, Dec. 8, 2019 Formerly PRO "[Savannah Guthrie:] Do you believe in raising taxes on the wealthy? [Donald Trump:] I do. I do, including myself. I do." Source: Today Show, "Trump on Today Town Hall: Abortions Exceptions, Immigration, Raising Taxes," today.com, Apr. 21, 2016 [Editor's Note: On an Nov. 10, 1999 appearance on Good Morning America (GMA), Trump stated: "Well, basically, this would be a one-time tax, 14.25 percent against people with a net worth of over 10 million… It would pay off in its entirety the national debt of $5.7 trillion, and you’d save $200 billion a year. So taxes for the middle class would go way down, the estate and inheritance tax totally wiped out, and the Social Security system would be saved." In a 2011 GMA interview, Trump said of his earlier proposal, "Well, at that time, it would have paid off the deficit. I mean, you wouldn't have a deficit at that time. Unfortunately, the world has changed. Today, you can't do it. Today, and I'm very strongly against tax increases." Source: Jonathan Karl, "Donald Trump Once Proposed the Biggest Tax Hike Ever," abcnews.go.com, Aug. 6, 2015] Back to present position 7 Now Con "I certainly stand by my opposition to Gun Control when it comes to taking guns from law-abiding citizens. You mention that the media describes the AR-15 as an 'assault rifle,' which is one example of the many distortions they use to sell their agenda. However, the AR-15 does not fall under this category. Gun-banners are unfortunately preoccupied with the AR-15, magazine capacity, grips, and other aesthetics, precisely because of its popularity. To the Left every gun is an assault weapon. Gun control does not reduce crime. It has consistently failed to stop violence. Americans are entitled to protect their families, their property and themselves." Source: Fredy Riehl, "Donald Trump Talks: Gun Control, Assault Weapons, Gun Free Zones & Self Defense," ammoland.com, July 7, 2015 Formerly PRO "I generally oppose gun control but I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun." 8 Now Con "DC will never be a state. You mean District of Columbia, a state? Why? So we can have two more Democratic — Democrat senators and five more congressmen? No thank you. That’ll never happen...They want to do that so they pick up two automatic Democrat — you know it’s 100 percent Democrat, basically — so why would the Republicans ever do that? That’ll never happen unless we have some very, very stupid Republicans around that I don’t think you do. You understand that, right?... No, it’s not gonna happen. And how many House seats is it? Like four, three or four? Whatever it is. You’d have three or four more congressmen and two more senators, every single day of every single year. And it would never change. No, the Republicans would never do that.” Source: Steven Nelson and Ebony Bowden, "Trump Says Washington, DC, Will Never Be a State--because of All the Democrats," nypost.com, May 5, 2020 Formerly NOT CLEARLY PRO OR CON Trump: "I would like to do whatever is good for the District of Columbia because I love the people." Chuck Todd: "So you’re okay with either way? If they want statehood, you’re for statehood?" Trump: "I mean, people are talking about that. I’d look at it. I’d certainly look at it—” Source: Benjamin Freed, "Donald Trump Supports DC Statehood--Sort Of," washingonian.com, Aug. 17, 2015 Back to present position 9 Now Not Clearly Pro or Con "The deal was done. DACA is going to be just fine. We’re putting it in. It's going to be just fine. And I am going to be, over the next few weeks, signing an immigration bill that a lot of people don't know about. You have breaking news, but I'm signing a big immigration bill...I'm going to do a big executive order. I have the power to do it as president and I'm going to make DACA a part of it. But, we put it in, and we'll probably going to then be taking it out. We're working out the legal complexities right now, but I'm going to be signing a very major immigration bill as an executive order, which Supreme Court now, because of the DACA decision, has given me the power to do that...[W]hat I'm going to do is that they're going to part of a much bigger bill on immigration. It's going to be a very big bill, a very good bill, and merit-based bill and it will include DACA, and I think people are going to be very happy... But one of the aspects of the bill is going to be DACA. We're going to have a road to citizenship." Source: Rafael Bernal, "Trump Says He'll Sign Order with 'Road to Citizenship' for DACA Recipients," thehill.com, July 10, 2020 Formerly PRO "In June of 2012, President Obama bypassed Congress to give work permits, social security numbers, and federal benefits to approximately 800,000 illegal immigrants currently between the ages of 15 and 36. The typical recipients of this executive amnesty, known as DACA, are in their twenties. Legislation offering these same benefits had been introduced in Congress on numerous occasions and rejected each time... The temporary implementation of DACA by the Obama Administration, after Congress repeatedly rejected this amnesty-first approach, also helped spur a humanitarian crisis – the massive surge of unaccompanied minors from Central America including, in some cases, young people who would become members of violent gangs throughout our country, such as MS-13... Therefore, in the best interests of our country, and in keeping with the obligations of my office, the Department of Homeland Security will begin an orderly transition and wind-down of DACA... As I’ve said before, we will resolve the DACA issue with heart and compassion – but through the lawful Democratic process – while at the same time ensuring that any immigration reform we adopt provides enduring benefits for the American citizens we were elected to serve." Source: Donald Trump, "Statement from President Donald J. Trump," whitehouse.gov, Sep. 5, 2017 Back to present position 10 Now Con Geraldo Rivera: "How about statehood for Puerto Rico, isn't that the only way to really fix them?" Donald Trump: "Nobody's mentioned that recently to me. Nobody's mentioned it recently. I will tell you this, with the mayor of San Juan as bad as she is, and as incompetent as she is, Puerto Rico shouldn't be talking about statehood until they get some people that really know what they're doing... And if you have good leadership, Geraldo, that certainly could be something they talk about. But with people like that involved in Puerto Rico, I would be an absolute no." Source: FactBase Videos, "Interview: Geraldo Rivera Interviews Donald Trump on Geraldo in Cleveland - September 24, 2018," youtube.com, Sep. 24, 2018 Formerly PRO "There are 3.7 million American citizens living in Puerto Rico. As citizens, they should be entitled to determine for themselves their political status. I am firmly committed to the process where Puerto Ricans might resolve their status according to Constitutional and Congressional protocols. I believe the people of Puerto Rico deserve a process of status self-determination that gives them a fair and unambiguous choice on this matter. As president I will do my part to insure that Congress follows the Constitution. The will of the Puerto Rican people in any status referendum should be considered as Congress follows through on any desired change in status for Puerto Rico, including statehood." Sources: Rafael Bernal, "Puerto Rico's Representative Makes Renewed Push for Statehood," thehill.com, Jan. 6, 2017 Alexia Fernández Campbell, "Puerto Rico's Push for Statehood, Explained," vox.com, Sep. 24, 2018 Back to present position 11 Now Con "This cruel campaign of censorship and exclusion violates everything we hold dear as Americans. They want to demolish our heritage so they can impose a new oppressive regime in its place." Source: Scottie Andrew and Anna Sturla, "A Statue of Frederick Douglass Was Toppled over the Fourth of July Weekend, the Anniversary of His Famous Speech,” cnn.com, July 6, 2020 Formerly PRO "We can take things down, too. I can understand certain things taken down. But they ought to go through a process legally. And then we take it down and in some cases put them in museums or wherever they may go." Source: Zachary B. Wolf, "Trump's Going to Protect Confederate Statues," cnn.com, June 26, 2020 Back to present position |
|
|
READER FAVORITES
 TRANSLATE into 100+ Languages and Dialects |
