NATO was obsolete, but it’s no longer obsolete. China is not a currency manipulator. The Federal hiring freeze is no longer needed. The export-import bank is no longer unnecessary. In the course of a few hours, President Trump flip-flopped on several of his core campaign positions and moved from nationalist ideals to a more globalist view. But the reversals that might surprise his base the most are economic. From the NYT: Trump Reversals Hint at Wall Street Wing’s Sway in White House. From WaPo: Trump backs off fiscal pledges and adopts centrist policies that he once fought. And from The Atlantic: President Trump Reverses on Candidate Trump’s Economic Views.

+ “He then went into the history of China and Korea. Not North Korea, Korea. And you know, you’re talking about thousands of years … and many wars. And Korea actually used to be a part of China. And after listening for 10 minutes I realized that not — it’s not so easy.” David Graham on The Education of Donald J. Trump.

+ Many of Trump’s policy changes can be connected back to the story that has enraptured DC insiders. The fall of Steve Bannon. A few weeks ago, Trump critics referred to Bannon as the real president. Now, many are wondering how long he’ll keep his White House gig. From WaPo: Inside Bannon’s struggle: From ‘shadow president’ to Trump’s marked man: “The mercurial president has a long history of turning quickly on subordinates, and the political hit late Tuesday in the New York Post was trademark Trump, using the friendly Manhattan tabloid to publicly debase his chief strategist. The president said Bannon was hardly the Svengali of his caricature, but rather ‘a good guy’ who ‘was not involved in my campaign until very late.'” (Of course, given the recent reversals, all the bad news about Bannon could mean he’s actually about to get a promotion.)