海角大神

A week that began with GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump calling himself a 鈥渦nifying force鈥� ended聽on Friday聽with Mr. Trump backing down from his insistence that, as president, he would order US military personnel to torture terrorist suspects.

As late as聽Thursday, Trump said that the Pentagon would follow his orders. Less than a day later, the New York billionaire told the Wall Street Journal that, if elected commander-in-chief, 鈥淚 will not order a military officer to disobey the law. It is clear that as president I will be bound by laws just like all Americans and I will meet those responsibilities.鈥�

The about-face is part of an emerging 鈥渇lexibility鈥� on Trump鈥檚 part as the current primary frontrunner surveys a general election landscape where his campaign would face major obstacles from Democrats, young people, and even many Republicans. Observers noted several instances this week where Trump shifted his tone to come off as less bombastic and, ultimately, more presidential.

"It remains to be seen whether an uneven debate performance聽on Thursday聽night, when his tendency to shift his positions was highlighted, will erode Mr. Trump鈥檚 support," .

Dave 鈥淢udcat鈥� Saunders, a Democratic strategist, told 海角大神 this week that he has noticed Trump tempering the 鈥渓oud language鈥� that has won him points for honesty and trustworthiness among many conservatives and independents.

That shift, Mr. Saunders notes, suggests a pivot toward a general election which Trump is likely to approach in 鈥渁 hybrid politically correct/incorrect manner. He went hybrid [after his Super聽Tuesday] victories: He didn鈥檛 jump on anyone, he didn鈥檛 [insult] the press, he called himself a unifying force.鈥�

Trump may be looking more seriously at how to build a broader coalition should he emerge the Republican party nominee.

While he has surprised many in the political world with his appeal and staying power, his core constituency remains narrow. He remains intensely polarizing within the Republican party: Trump is the top choice of 37 percent of Republicans but he's also ranked last by 22 percent of GOP primary voters.聽

As of March 1, had Trump trailing Hillary Clinton in a general election match up by five percentage points.

What鈥檚 more, although Trump helped to raise GOP turnout significantly on Super聽Tuesday聽compared with 2012, Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz says聽that the spike included Republicans trying to ensure he doesn鈥檛 get the nomination. And while Trump has bragged about his crossover appeal to Democrats and independents, exit polls suggested that the bulk of voters on Super聽Tuesday聽were traditional primary voters 鈥� not fresh faces.

鈥淗e鈥檚 not bringing in a whole bunch of working class voters as a proportion to the electorate, and when he keeps claiming that Democrats are coming over to vote for him, that鈥檚 not true, either,鈥� says Mr. Abramowitz.

To be sure, Trump鈥檚 decision to flip-flop on his torture stance has irked some conservatives. But at least for now, the decision to adjust his stronger stances likely doesn鈥檛 carry much political risk. Five states hold primaries and caucuses聽on Saturday, and Trump leads the polls in all of them.

Changing his position on torture 鈥渋sn鈥檛 flexibility 鈥� it鈥檚 abandoning a position he insisted he would never change,鈥� writes . 鈥淚n recent days, Trump is showing signs of similar 鈥榝lexibility鈥� on other issues like illegal immigration, the 鈥榳all,鈥� and Muslim refugees. But since many of his supporters don鈥檛 pay attention to day to day politics, it won鈥檛 hurt him with his core constituency.鈥�

Trump鈥檚 torture assertions are part of a broader complaint against his candidacy 鈥� that he is fomenting authoritarian rule. After all, torture is against both US and international law. After 9/11, the US engaged in years of soul-searching over the legal definition of torture, and endured cruel and embarrassing images of prisoners mistreated at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.

Trump had insisted as late as the last debate this week that he would not hesitate to order the military to carry out harsh treatment against terrorist suspects.聽鈥淚鈥檝e always been a leader,鈥� he said聽Thursday. 鈥淚鈥檝e never had any problem leading people. If I say do it, they鈥檙e going to do it. That鈥檚 what leadership is all about.鈥�

But a bevy of military leaders have called Trump out on his stance, saying such a policy would make military personnel vulnerable to prosecution. this past week when he said that the US military would flat out refuse to torture suspects or kill their family members, as Trump at one point warned he would do as President.

Trump said, 鈥淚 will use every legal power that I have to stop these terrorist enemies. I do, however, understand that the United States is bound by laws and treaties and I will not order our military or other officials to violate those laws and will seek their advice on such matters.鈥�