Following his decision to not withdraw the United States from NAFTA this week, President Donald Trump described himself as both “a nationalist and a globalist,” triggering chatter online about what his reversal means for his “America first” campaign rhetoric.

“Hey, I’m a nationalist and a globalist,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, less than a day after he was persuaded by White House advisers and leaders from Canada and Mexico to rescind his threat to pull the U.S. out of the 23-year-old trade deal.

“I’m both. And I’m the only one who makes the decision, believe me,” Trump added.

Related: Just how close was Trump to pulling U.S. out of NAFTA? This close.

Trump on Wednesday threatened to sign a draft executive order to begin the process to pull the U.S. out of the North America Free Trade Agreement, but later that day reversed his threat, saying that he would instead urge Congress to renegotiate the deal.

https://twitter.com/SenJohnMcCain/status/857336139950305281

Senior Republicans , including Sen. John McCain , R-Arizona, had expressed opposition to a withdrawal from NAFTA. But Trump’s sudden change of heart left some Republicans scratching their heads over what to make of the negotiation strategy.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski , R-Alaska, told BuzzFeed on Thursday, “I don’t think that kind of the unclear message is helpful.”

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, also expressed confusion, saying, “I couldn’t tell whether that was a strategy or just a miscue from inside the White House.”

Throughout his presidential campaign in 2016, Trump described NAFTA as a “total disaster,” “one of the worst deals ever” and a “terrible” one for the U.S. and American workers. He often said he would either “get rid of it” or “terminate it” or “renegotiate” it.

That was a message that resonated with many of his supporters who felt American jobs were hurt and threatened by globalism. But by Thursday, a lot of them were unsure whether Trump will fulfill that promise.

Trump’s remarks also drew reactions on Twitter, ranging from confused to disappointed among those who supported his more nationalistic rhetoric. Even the alt-right news site, Breitbart News, tweeted “one of these things is not like the other” referring to his remarks about being both a nationalist and a globalist.

https://twitter.com/BreitbartNews/status/857993137180028929

https://twitter.com/libertytarian/status/857968121155641344

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As theories about what exactly informed Trump’s decision to reverse his threat to pull out of NAFTA swirled the last two days, one story from the Washington Post offered a striking picture of the president’s last-minute deliberation.

According to the Post, several advisers reportedly pulled up a map of the United States to show Trump that pulling out of NAFTA would negatively impact areas that supported his presidency.

https://twitter.com/PostRoz/status/857764807231111169

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https://twitter.com/TheAndrewRoth/status/857981265718513665

https://twitter.com/KenTremendous/status/857818165207629824

As he reached his 99th day in office on Friday, Trump moved on from NAFTA to focus on gun rights. In an interview with Reuters, Trump also said that his job was harder than he first imagined.

“I love my previous life,” Trump told Reuters. “I had so many things going on … This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier.”

Where that leaves Republicans and his supporters is unclear. But if Trump continues to not deliver on the promises he made during the campaign, then his supporters may lose their enthusiasm and their once-high hopes he would bring major change to Washington.

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Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com

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