Or are we? There is one constant in this topsy-turvy political world-gone-mad: that reliably unreliable party of one, President Donald Trump. The president's famous carelessness, impulsivity and short attention span form the immovable center around which the political universe has seemingly flipped in recent days.

The proximate cause of that inversion – presaged last week by Trump's easy accession to Democratic demands on government funding and the debt ceiling – was Trump's speedy transformation from President Deport-Em-All-and-Let-God-Sort-Em-Out to the Democrat-embracing, compassionate Trumpservatism-voicing, big-hearted advocate for "Dreamers," people brought here as children without documentation who have grown up Americans in all but their legal status. He cut a deal with Democrats to enshrine the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program, DACA as it's commonly known, or he cut a deal to cut a deal, or something – details and facts are slippery things where Trump is involved – and his base (or at least its most prominent commentators) flipped their collective lids.

So here's obnoxious right-wing performance artist Ann Coulter, who wrote a book-length love-note to Trump last year and has famously called him an "emperor-god":

Let's play Jeopardy. ANSWER: An Easter egg. QUESTION: What's

the only thing easier to roll than Donald J. Trump? — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) September 14, 2017

Her Twitter timeline is now peppered with tweets of disillusioned Trumpies burning their red "Make America Great Again" hats in disgust over Trump's apostasy. And here's the odious Iowa Rep. Steve King, anti-immigrant fanatic:

@RealDonaldTrump If AP is correct, Trump base is blown up, destroyed, irreparable, and disillusioned beyond repair. No promise is credible. https://t.co/uJjxk6uX5g — Steve King (@SteveKingIA) September 14, 2017

Even Breitbart News, once the alt-media mouthpiece of the Trump presidential campaign, slapped the president with the "Amnesty Don" sobriquet and bragged about the nickname trending on Twitter.

"Amnesty Don" – somewhere "Little Marco" and "Lyin' Ted" are chuckling.

Democrats on the other hand are giddy. "He likes us. He likes me, anyway," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said of his fellow New Yorker. They seem to have discovered the keys to negotiating with the author of "The Art of the Deal." First, schmooze: Trump finds it "difficult to have any sort of relationship – or even much small talk – with" the charmless Mitch McConnell, Politico's Rachael Bade and Josh Dawsey reported Thursday night, adding that "boy scout" Paul Ryan, as Trump refers to him, is only marginally more engaging. "By contrast, Trump can relate to Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, who talk more in non-Washington terms that he understands, according to people familiar with their meetings," Bade and Dawsey add. Savor the irony: Democrats, long tarred with being impenetrably wonky, have finally found an audience who considers them to be relatable in the billionaire, self-styled tribune of the people famous for his lack of interest or knowledge in policy details. "Schumer just talks to him," a White House source told Politico. "You get Mitch and Paul in here, and they're trying to explain this or that, and there is no personal connection."

The second step in negotiating with Trump appears to be to sit quietly until he grants your wishes. Again from Politico:

Toward the end of the Problem Solvers Caucus meeting Wednesday, Trump suggested his proposed border wall with Mexico need not be part of a deal allowing "Dreamers" to stay in the country legally — an idea he would later share with Pelosi and Schumer.

Democrats didn't even have to ask, they said in interviews.

None of this should come as a surprise. Trump's hallmarks are a bumper-sticker-level policy depth, mainly informed by an image-maker's need to nurture his can-do brand. Pitched a bipartisan fix to Obamacare, according to Politico, Trump's only question was: "Can I call it 'repeal and replace'?" Put more simply his main ideological litmus test at the moment seems to be whether he can call something a victory. "Trump has decided that he will work with whoever can give him wins, according to White House sources familiar with his thinking," Politico reports.

But for how long? He's got even less reasons to retain any fidelity to Democrats than to Republicans, his ostensible party. As minority leaders, neither of Trump's new pals, Nancy and Chuck, has the ability to get legislation to his desk; and their voters aren't going to pack his rallies and chant "Lock her up!" while thrilling to the fantasy of a Mexico-financed wall. Presumably when Schumer brags about Trump's affection for him, he does so with the clear understanding that it's as viable as the president's affection and loyalty to his first two wives, his first two White House communications directors and the political parties he's flitted in and out of for the last few decades. Democrats are right to cut deals when Trump offers good terms but should remain gimlet-eyed about his basic nature. He demands fierce loyalty to Donald Trump, and in return, he bestows fierce loyalty upon Donald Trump. All else is disposable.