Trump believes in whats best for Trump.
Romney doesn't hold a candle to the flip flop that Trump made and makes. but you are right.. no flip flopping.. none of that. Which is a scary thing when you think of it. Trump is in a position of power because of his personal effect on people.. and not on his positions/actions. Heck.. I think he recognized this himself when at a rally he said "I could shoot a guy right here and you would love it (or something to that effect).. and the crowd cheered.
History of Il Duce and De Fuhrer come to mind.
I don't think he was turned down.. he did a flip flop and the Democrats weren;t going to carry anymore water from him. Then he could have gotten something passed with republicans and a few democrats and then he left the republicans out to dry. And now they won't introduce legislation or push it seriously until they get a commitment from him on what he wants.. which is why nothing has gotten done.
But.. that means then that you end up putting Trump in a better position. Its not just the ideologues that re a problem here. its also the politics. Getting things done.. means that Trump looks good. And that hurts the Dems chances of a Democrat in the next election.
Its a catch 22 for the democrats.. if they win congress.
Perhaps that is what it all boils down to. Winning elections has replaced governing or moving the country forward. Of course any congress that works with any president, the president will get most of the credit. An example is that LBJ gets the credit for the civil rights act and the voting rights act, Medicare. Yet without Republican cooperation, their help, none of that would have been accomplished. LBJ needed their votes to get these things passed. Different era for sure, but a good example I think.
Even if the Republicans in congress get a commitment from Trump on legislation, that doesn't mean Trump won't change his mind. I suppose the bottom line is one can't trust Trump. Of course Trump might be all for something one day, but totally opposed the next. Depends on his mood or what pops into his mind.
The Democrats set out to destroy Trump the day after the election, they will never cooperate with him even if Trump took their side. This brings to mind Bill Clinton, after he lost congress to the Republicans in 1994, Bill changed strategy, he would cooperate with the GOP congress and came up with triangulation. Bill realized the agenda he had engaged in his first two years was dead. I think Bill, under the circumstances accomplished quite a lot over his last six years.
Obama in my opinion didn't learn from Bill when he lost the House in 2010. Obama continued to try to push the same agenda he had his first two year throughout his presidency. He didn't change or adapt to the new reality. Instead it was his phone, his pen and EO's and enhanced regulations from the various departments. Not legislation.
This brings me to Trump. If the Democrats take the House this midterm, I think they will. Will Trump change and adapt to this new reality or remain firm. Does it matter if he does or doesn't. Being he has pushed very little legislation outside of Obamacare repeal and the tax cuts. Perhaps he will be satisfied to do nothing and accomplish nothing. Just stopping the new Democratic House from accomplishing anything. That seems to be the politics of today.
This brings me to the last question. Is Trump at all interested in governing? Outside of the wall, what does he really want to accomplish? Is he happy just to be a presidential showman with the perks and without an agenda? Okay more than one last question, but they all tie together.