Everyone relax: President-Elect Trump is different than Republican Nominee Trump.

After watching yesterday's 60 minutes interview with Donald Trump, I'd like to make the following suggestions:

1) For the people protesting in the streets, or anyone who thinks a Trump presidency will result in catastrophe: Relax. Trump is already backing off much of his divisive rhetoric, and I think we have every reason to believe he will govern differently than how he campaigned. Only time will tell, of course, but the signs are there.

2) For the people gloating about a Trump victory: Slow down. You don't know what you're getting yet.

Following are my observations on Campaign Trump vs. President Trump on a variety of issues:

ON THE WALL
Trump now says it might not be a wall everywhere. It might be a fence in some places. Of course, that leaves open the possibility that it might be a "virtual wall" in other places. I personally don't find the wall to be a divisive issue, since it only negatively impacts illegals crossing the border, but it was brought up a lot during the campaign and Trump appears to be softening his rhetoric here.

ON APPOINTING A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR FOR HILLARY
It's clear Trump doesn't want to break a campaign promise without at least giving the impression that he thought it through, but it's clear he has no particular desire to go after Hillary. I don't expect him to interfere with ongoing investigations, but I also don't think he's going to appoint a special prosecutor. Last night, he called Hillary a good person, spoke of how Hillary and Bill were both very cordial toward him, and gave Hillary credit for running a tough campaign. He also said, "I don't want to hurt them." I think we can all agree this isn't very high on his priority list, despite the campaign rhetoric.

ON GAY MARRIAGE
Clearly he supports it. He says it's "decided law." There is a bit of a disconnect here because Roe V. Wade is also decided law, but I think the difference is more that one is something he actually plans to factor into his selection of supreme court justices, while the other is not.

ON IMMIGRATION:
He's focusing on getting the criminals out of the country, something both sides can probably agree on. However, he said he would evaluate other illegals at a later date, likely as part of the comprehensive immigration reform bill he touted. He didn't say this outright, but I think we can expect a good portion of illegals to get amnesty when this finally becomes law. I do not believe he is going to kick out people with families here, or people who have school-age children here who have only ever known America. I just don't.

ON THE ACA:
He hasn't exactly reversed positions here, but the rhetoric is softer. He acknowledges that there were some good things about the ACA, including coverage for pre-existing conditions and the ability for parents to keep their kids on their insurance policies longer, and says he "would like to keep those things." Of course, you can't keep those things unless there is also an insurance mandate -- at least, that's my thinking. Perhaps he has other ideas. However, one thing is certain: Even if the ACA goes away, Trump promised to enact NEW legislation correcting its problems before the ACA is repealed, and this new legislation will correct many of the shortcomings of the ACA. Given the supreme court's decisions on the ACA up to this point, I think it's pretty clear we're going to get some modified version of the ACA, perhaps under a different name.

Just my two cents. Take it for what it's worth.

What people fail to realize is that this is just a phase of acceptance. People are angry and are acting out. That's okay, tempers flare sometimes. They'll cone around.

a reply to: Greggers

I am personally more concerned with the economy at this point so I want to see what his policies are in reference to that than anything else right now.

Actually the "Wall" that exists around the sanctuary cities needs to topple.

First thing's first.

The border "Wall" will take care of itself.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: Greggers

I am personally more concerned with the economy at this point so I want to see what his policies are in reference to that than anything else right now.

Agreed. He has said he'll focus on jobs. I don't know what that means yet.

I'm also curious about the impact of his NAFTA renegotiation on Trade, and exactly how he plans to go about that.

After the 60 min. interview; Trump sounds more like a Democrat now. That's what many predicted and now it looks like he got elected on right wing talking points but really didn't intend to follow thru.

Flip flopping on the "crooked Hillery" deal is going to piss of a lot of conservatives, plus the ACA act won't be repealed just changed so the insurance companies can continue to profit. Business first....

Seeing the trend yet???

Actually, this is what he has said all along. Since he put it in a book in 2000 and then again in 2011. ALL of the things he has been talking about are there.

He is not just talking points. He gets things done. He singlehandedly beat the GOP field. He then beat the DNC and they spent 2 billion dollars to stop him...that we know off. He beat the largest political crime I mean family there is right now. All of them.

He did it. What sucks is we as a nation cannot come together and realize what WE have won. What he has given us. A chance.

He also has said he does not tell what he will do. If I was HIll I would not be settling in just yet. It is not the email they will go after...it is the open CGI and Clinton foundation investigations. Bill, HIll and Chelsea could all do time....

He has notoriously said he doesn't tell people what he's going to do.

He's repeated many times that he keeps his real agenda hidden so he can negotiate better.

originally posted by: matafuchs
Actually, this is what he has said all along. Since he put it in a book in 2000 and then again in 2011. ALL of the things he has been talking about are there.

He is not just talking points. He gets things done. He singlehandedly beat the GOP field. He then beat the DNC and they spent 2 billion dollars to stop him...that we know off. He beat the largest political crime I mean family there is right now. All of them.

He did it. What sucks is we as a nation cannot come together and realize what WE have won. What he has given us. A chance.

He also has said he does not tell what he will do. If I was HIll I would not be settling in just yet. It is not the email they will go after...it is the open CGI and Clinton foundation investigations. Bill, HIll and Chelsea could all do time....

You make excellent points.

But most of the people fearful of a Trump presidency probably did not read the book and only know the talking points from his stump speeches.

My feeling is that IF anyone in the Clinton family does time, it will be because the currently in-progress FBI investigations uncover serious crimes, rather than any active involvement directly at the behest of Trump.

a reply to: Greggers

He will be one of the most liberal presidents in history IMHO

a reply to: Greggers

Actually no, he has not really shown that he is changing his positions at all.

On the wall - whether it is a fence or a wall makes no difference. There are certain areas where a fence is adequate to stop crossings. This is much more about cost savings than anything else.

On appointing a special prosecutor - He is softening this for two reasons, one he knows that the vast majority of the population is totally ignorant of Hillary's crimes because it was not covered by the media, and as a result to many it sounds unreasonable. This can easily be rectified, especially if the rumored evidence from the Weiner laptop exists. Second it is highly likely that Obama will blanket pardon her making discussion of it moot because she will not be eligible for prosecution. I guarantee you she will be prosecuted if Obama does not pardon her.

Gay Marriage - Unlike Hillary he has never publicly been against this despite the propaganda otherwise. There is no change in this stance at all.

Immigration - For the last 6 months he has been saying he only wanted to deport criminal illegals. Again this is not a change in policy.

ACA - He has said he wants to keep two portions of it, the preexisting condition safety net, and the ability to keep children on their parents plan to 25. Again this is not new, he has said he wanted to keep these two elements from the beginning of the campaign. As far as not repealing and instead modifying the ACA - this is really just semantics. Trump is about fixing problems, and if it is easier for the democrats to go along with changing the ACA instead of completely scrapping it to save face he is willing to do it, as long as it is changed significantly.

You are only thinking his positions are changing because you were not really familiar with his positions in the first place.

a reply to: Greggers

Correct about HIllary. This was discussed with him a few times before the election and he said he will see.

The points in his book have been on his website for over a year. That is why so many did vote. He had answers. A vision. Even if 25% of what he has said are accomplished in the first year it will be more than the last 15.

a reply to: WilburnRoach

Based on what?

a reply to: Darkmadness

So he too has those public and private positions that people railed against Hillary over?

Either way this country needs to settle down before they cause more damage.
Acting out in violent protests does NOTHING for our country.

He isn't even in office yet.
As for leaning more democrat than republican, well that is old news.
He has admittedly leaned left for a long time.

I am patiently awaiting what these next 4 years will bring.
I think everyone in this nation needs to grow some patience.

Some, who are crying like spoiled children who didn't get their way, more than others.

Be patient. He will do more than any other POTUS before him and go down as the president that save the US. He means business!

I think that when he met with Obama, he learned that he doesnt have as much power as he thought he had. He was probably told that if he didnt stay in line with what the Oligarchy wanted, he would be "replaced".

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: Greggers

I am personally more concerned with the economy at this point so I want to see what his policies are in reference to that than anything else right now.

I keep trying to explain to people that most of his statements of economic "platform" are horsesh#.

For instance, this idea that we'll toss out all trade deals and negotiate some better ones seems fairly effin' unrealistic. These things typically span multiple terms if not administrations. NAFTA started with Reagan, was negotiated under Bush 41 and finally signed under Clinton. TPP? That's been in the works since 2008 or 2009.

Then there's "bringing back the jobs" which makes my head hurt and some combination of deregulation and cutting taxes (the never gets old 'trickle-down' economics). Though, it should be noted that one way to bring back some jobs would be to gut labor law and environmental regulation to the point of becoming far more like the places where manufacturing moved. If we act quickly, we can become China just in time for the robots to take the last of the manufacturing jobs!

Oh but wait, he's going to cut taxes on the middle class too and do so while rebuilding infrastructure, building a giant wall and expanding the military.

Or none of that. Whatevs.

a reply to: theantediluvian

yea, we should just give up and wait for a better leader. Please, somebody tell Donald never mind.

Just so you know, the way you keep harping on how bad he will do is kind of premature. Once he is in office, and has had a chance to either do things, or not do things, THEN we can all throw rose petals at your feet. But as of right now, you kind of need to watch more and talk less.

originally posted by: JimSmith
a reply to: Darkmadness

So he too has those public and private positions that people railed against Hillary over?

He explained a good bit about his strategies and how he does business in his book. If you want to know more about his than what CNN told you, reading it is always an option.