In February 2017, Trump said he was “looking at” both a two-state and a one-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Nearly two years later, the White House has yet to take an official position.

And when Trump said this month that Republicans were “studying very deeply” a “major” tax cut ahead of the midterm elections, his administration told reporters it had no idea what he was talking about.

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Each rudderless proposal appears to be an outgrowth of something Trump has returned to over the last three years: Not wanting to “telegraph” his plans, the latest of which came last week, when Trump baselessly suggested that he could revoke birthright citizenship via executive order, sparking a flurry of media coverage, even while saying little of actual substance. But his reaction at the end of an exchange with Axios in an interview that aired on Nov. 4 was perhaps the most telling.

“That’s a very interesting question — I didn’t think anybody knew that but me,” Trump said when asked about a potential executive action on birthright citizenship, seemingly surprised anyone knew he was considering it. “I thought I was the only one.”

As president, Trump has increasingly floated thin or nonexistent policy proposals, often accompanied by caveats with some variation of “we’re looking into it."

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Will he fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions? “We are looking at lots of different things.”

Will he build a U.S. military base in Poland? “We’re looking at it very seriously.”

Will he restart licensing at Yucca Mountain after setting aside millions for it? “We will be looking at it very seriously over the next few weeks.”

The proposals fully or partially implemented by Trump since this post originally published in November 2018 are marked in bold italics below:

But even as “looking into it” has become one of Trump’s favorite dodges for questions about his agenda, it is not always an indicator for how Trump will, or will not, follow through.

After Trump imposed tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines in January, he was asked whether he was planning additional tariffs on steel and aluminum.

“We’re looking at it,” Trump said. “We’re looking at a lot of things.”