Trump offered two reasons for his change of heart: First, he said, China had quit manipulating its currency in recent months; and second, he was worried that starting a trade tiff now would endanger cooperation with Beijing on pressuring North Korea. The latter is admirably frank, but the former is nonsensical. Although some observers believe China deserved to be branded a currency manipulator in the past, its government had begun spending huge sums to prop up the yuan since 2014—long before Trump’s economic saber-rattling.

Janet Yellen and Low Interest Rates

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen was another punching bag for Trump during the campaign. “Janet Yellen should have raised [interest] rates,” he said in November 2015. “She’s not doing it because the Obama administration and the president doesn’t want her to.” In May 2016, he promised to replace her because she was not a Republican, but said he thought it was wise to keep interest rates low. By September 2016, he’d changed his mind again, saying she should be “ashamed” for keeping rates low.

In his new Journal interview, Trump opened the possibility of reappointing Yellen at the end of her term in 2018, saying she was “not toast.”

“I like her, I respect her,” the president said, adding, “I do like a low-interest rate policy, I must be honest with you.”

Syria

Trump’s most visible reversal has come on his policy toward Syria. As a private citizen and as a candidate, Trump repeatedly argued against American military intervention against the Assad regime, saying it was not in U.S. interests. Yet last week, Trump decided to launch missile strikes against the Assad government, following a chemical-weapons attack in Idlib.

The White House’s explanations for the flip-flop have been confusing. Administration officials have said, for example, that chemical-weapons attacks and the use of barrel bombs against innocent civilians are unacceptable, but both of those were going on in 2013 when Trump was stridently opposed to U.S. intervention. Nor has Trump made clear what his Syria policy will be going forward. Some aides have suggested a push for regime change, while others have insisted there’s been no change in stance. As my colleague Rosie Gray reported, the decision to send missiles was bitterly disappointing to many of his alt-right supporters who saw Trump as a bulwark against Middle Eastern adventurism.

Russia

Along with Trump’s reversal on Syria has come a reversal on Russia. Throughout the campaign, Trump praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, downplayed the Russian leader’s misdeeds, and argued that America had much to gain from working with the Kremlin.

Since the Idlib attack, the White House’s rhetoric toward Putin has turned decidedly chilly. “I think it’s a very sad day for Russia because they’re aligned, and in this case, all information points to Syria that they did this,” Trump told The New York Times after the attack. On Tuesday, the administration made the case that Russia had attempted to help Assad cover up the chemical-weapons attack. Russia said that relations with the U.S. are at their lowest ebb since the Cold War, a claim that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson basically confirmed after meeting with his counterpart Wednesday.