Story highlights Everything, in the world of Trump, is a negotiation

What we see as flip-floppery and weakness, Trump sees as flexibility and uncertainty

Washington (CNN) In the space of the last week, President Donald Trump has either altered or totally reversed his views on US involvement in Syria, Russia's friendliness (or lack thereof), China's currency manipulation, Fed chair Janet Yellen, the Export-Import Bank and NATO.

It's enough to a) give you whiplash and b) raise legitimate questions about what Trump actually believes, given that many of his current positions are directly at odds with those that he staked out during the campaign. Is this a new Trump? A more centrist, realistic one? And, if so, what changed?

The answer is that nothing has really changed.

Think about what has always sat at the heart of how Donald Trump defines himself: Deal-making. He became a national figure following the success of his book, "The Art of the Deal." The persona that made him a reality TV star was of a tough-bargaining deal-maker. He ran for president on that same idea: I've done big deals all of my life. None of these politicians know how to make the best deals, but I do.

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