Donald Trump Liberal Leanings Hinted At During Arizona Rally

Donald Trump’s liberal comments have been strewn across YouTube since the current GOP frontrunner first announced that he would be running for president as a Republican.

Thus far, conservatives have widely embraced him in spite of his left-leaning ways. But there have been a couple of key developments on the campaign trail that hint Trump the liberal hasn’t entirely gone away.

The first was an off-the-record portion of an on-the-record interview with the New York Times early in the process. While the contents of that portion have not been made public — that is up to Donald Trump himself — there is a widespread belief that he told NYT he might not be as rigid on some of his more hard-line stances, particularly immigration.

The Donald has downplayed this interview as “proof” that he plans on returning to the Trump liberal of yore, but as he gears up for the general election, he is starting to show signs of moving toward the center.

Recently, at a Tucson, Arizona, campaign rally, Trump had this to say.

“If I get elected, people don’t understand this, we are going to have a unified country. We have a country that is so divided now, it’s disgraceful. We are going to have a country that is unified, not like it is now.”

Of course, that came amid pandering to the crowd and delivering his signature “Get ’em out!” line when protests would break loose in the audience.

He also characterized protesters as “horrible people,” speculating that they would burn the American flag if they had a chance.

He also called one protester wearing a KKK hood “disgraceful” and had him escorted from the premises.

https://youtu.be/ipUjysWyUTA

He’s doing this at present because he knows it is the type of tough-guy stance his supporters want to see, but the increased calls for unification as well as his speculated “softening” on illegal immigration are cause to think that as President, the Trump liberal of yesteryear will show up in some small capacity.

And just how left-wing is the Trump liberal version?

Trump once told Wolf Blitzer he (Blitzer) “would be shocked if I said that in many cases, I’d probably identify more as a Democrat.”

He continued.

“I think you’d probably be shocked by that. It’s interesting. I’ve been now around — I think of myself as a young guy, but I’m not so young any more. I’ve been around for a long time, and it just seems like the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans. It shouldn’t be that way, but it is.”

As for his past political bedfellows, he has admitted to helping Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Senator Harry Reid.

“I’m in business,” Trump said. “They always treated me nicely. We need that in Washington.”

On Hillary Clinton, his probable opponent in November, he said that he had “known her and her husband for years, and I really like them both a lot.”

He continued.

“Hillary Clinton is a terrific woman. I think she really works hard, and I think she does a good job. I just like her. I like her, and I like her husband.”

For more from Trump the liberal, check out this 12-minute compilation.

https://youtu.be/OZqKLlLc0xo

Now the question remains, has Donald Trump had a true change-of-heart? Is he really a conservative and the rightful frontrunner for the Republican party, or is he doing what he’s doing to sabotage the GOP’s chances in November?

That’s an answer that may never come, and for an increasing number of Democrats and Republicans, it’s a question on which the future of the U.S. hinges. Do you think the Trump liberal comments mean he can’t be trusted? Sound off in the comments section below.

[Image via Flickr Creative Commons / Matt Johnson]