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Would President Donald Trump raise taxes on the rich or not?聽

That鈥檚 a bit of an open question at the moment due to stuff Mr. Trump said on news shows over the weekend. And tax hikes of any nature, of course, are anathema to the Republican Party. At least, they鈥檝e been counter to GOP ideology for decades in the PT (Pre-Trump) era.

Here鈥檚 the background: On NBC鈥檚 鈥淢eet the Press鈥� Sunday, host Chuck Todd asked Trump whether the presumptive nominee鈥檚 tax plan is set in stone. During the primary season, Trump proposed massive tax cuts.

In essence, Trump said 鈥渘o.鈥� He talked about his tax-plan priorities for negotiations, saying that the middle class needs to be protected, business needs to be protected, but the wealthy don鈥檛.

鈥淭he rich [are] probably going to end up paying more,鈥� Trump said.

Lots of people 鈥� OK, lots of Washington people 鈥� took this to mean he鈥檇 go along with taxes on the top 1 percent that are higher than they are now. 鈥淭rump Might Hike Taxes on Rich鈥� followed.

Monday, Trump is saying that is not what he meant. He insists the comment referred to the fact that he realizes big policies in Washington are negotiated between the parties and the White House and the legislative branch, and that he鈥檇 accept a tax rate for the rich higher than the one he鈥檇 proposed 鈥� but still lower than current policy.

鈥淲ith this very low tax that I put in, the biggest of anybody, I may have to raise it a little bit from that point,鈥� Trump told Maria Bartiromo Monday on Fox Business Network. 鈥淪o, the media of course picks it up that Trump wants a tax increase. It鈥檚 just unbelievable.鈥�

Hmm. OK, the original wording didn鈥檛 really seem that way, but it鈥檚 entirely possible Trump鈥檚 answer on 鈥淢eet the Press鈥� was just imprecise. If that鈥檚 that case, he鈥檚 talking about his negotiation priorities as president, right? We鈥檝e never written a book on the art of deals, but laying out what you鈥檇 take and what you wouldn鈥檛 in advance doesn鈥檛 seem like a great negotiation technique to us.

In politics you always hear top officials say something along the lines of 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to negotiate with myself鈥� when they鈥檙e asked questions about what they do and don鈥檛 want from big deals. (A variation on this is the classic, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 answer hypothetical questions.鈥�) That didn鈥檛 happen in this case.

Perhaps more important for Trump, lots of conservatives are angry about the way he answered this question, however it鈥檚 interpreted. That鈥檚 because they鈥檙e suspicious of the presumptive nominee鈥檚 motives. Is he a closet liberal? He defends big entitlement programs, doesn鈥檛 talk much about gay marriage or other social issues, is against 鈥渂athroom laws鈥� aimed at transgender people, and has a proudly non-interventionist America First foreign policy.

鈥淥n the GOP, Trump is A-OK with making America Blue Again, or at least making the GOP more like the Democrats,鈥� Steve Berman at the right-leaning The Resurgent.

That鈥檚 going to be a problem for Trump going forward. All his statements are going to be examined, not just for how they differ from Democrats, but how they differ from Republican positions of the recent past. That will make it difficult to unify the party 鈥� if that鈥檚 his goal. So far, he鈥檚 indicating that his intra-party opponents need to make peace with him, not the other way round.

鈥淚鈥檓 going to do what I have to do, I have millions of people that voted for me,鈥� Trump said on ABC鈥檚 鈥淭his Week鈥� Sunday.