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WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump\u2019s political mantra is \u201cfight, fight, fight.\u201d But he has given decidedly mixed messages about whether he will do so after Republicans were hammered in the midterms.<\/strong><\/p>\n In the week since becoming a lame duck, Trump named the hardline architect of his migration crackdown as his chief of staff, while admitting his deportation policy was too tough.<\/p>\n The 80-year-old raised eyebrows when he publicly asked Ultimate Fighting Championship boss Dana White to be his new press secretary \u2014 then claimed he was just joking.<\/p>\n He has admitted that the Iran war was largely to blame for the midterms rout. But he has strongly backed Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth\u2019s battle against impeachment.<\/p>\n And despite saying on election night that he\u2019d accept the results of the Democratic sweep, he has reverted to type and revived baseless claims of election fraud.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the characteristics of Donald Trump is that he changes his mind on a dime,\u201d Democratic Senator Chris Coons told CNN.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019ll be praising someone on Monday, firing them on Tuesday, and pretending he never knew them on Wednesday. So it\u2019s hard to predict exactly what Donald Trump is going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Too tough\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Democrats have promised to rein in Trump and launch a series of investigations into corruption and abuse of power. He could face a third impeachment.<\/p>\n But for a president supposedly facing his last stand, he has at times struck a surprisingly conciliatory tone. As results came in, he congratulated Democrats on seizing Congress and said he could work with them.<\/p>\n Instead of a press conference the next day, he gave reporters a tour of his new White House ballroom \u2014 sparking speculation he might spend the rest of his term on his building projects.<\/p>\n But the signs of volatility were still there. In the Oval Office, Trump placed a red baseball cap saying \u201cveto\u201d on his desk.<\/p>\n And when Trump announced on Friday that ultraloyalist Stephen Miller would replace Susie Wiles as his chief of staff, it seemed that the gloves were finally off.<\/p>\n The brains behind the masked immigration raids that left two Americans dead, Miller has also been instrumental in using executive orders to help Trump bypass Congress.<\/p>\n Yet in an interview the same day \u2014 though broadcast on Sunday \u2014 Trump conceded voters had been turned off by the aggressive deportation push.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was too tough,\u201d Trump told the CBS News \u201c60 Minutes\u201d program.<\/p>\n Still, the chances of Trump doing a deal with Democrats \u2014 possibly even for an amnesty for undocumented migrants \u2014 remain low.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem likely. Not with this decision to have Stephen Miller running the show,\u201d Sarah Binder, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, said in a panel discussion this week.<\/p>\n \u2018Violent fighter\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Trump\u2019s astonishing announcement on Saturday that he wanted \u201cviolent fighter and warrior\u201d Dana White to be his new spokesman also seemed to signal a war footing.<\/p>\n If it seemed too ironic to be true, it was. A day later Trump said he was \u201ckidding.\u201d<\/p>\n Ever the showman, the former reality TV star brought the UFC boss to the White House podium for an unexpected visit on Monday, where White turned down the job.<\/p>\n The administration\u2019s biggest fight now is against Hegseth\u2019s impeachment.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a fight Trump appears to be joining with relish \u2014 saying that Hegseth \u201cgets an \u2018A\u2019 PLUS, PLUS, PLUS\u201d shortly after the Pentagon chief gave a press conference calling the charges a \u201cfarce.\u201d<\/p>\n But Hegseth will know that Trump is rarely shy of shaking up his staff. He jettisoned Wiles just over two weeks after saying there was \u201czero chance\u201d he would sack her.<\/p>\n And Trump himself admitted he isn\u2019t likely to change his stripes.<\/p>\n Asked by CBS if he could forgive his foes, when faced with going to heaven or not, he demurred.<\/p>\n \u201cCan I be honest? I probably cannot do that, no. Because I do hate some of my enemies, and I always will.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n