Trump supported banning TikTok, only to reverse course after chatting with Jeff Yass, a billionaire hedge fund manager - and prospective campaign donor - who has a multibillion-dollar stake in ByteDance, TikTok's parent corporation. Something similar appears to have happened with the cryptocurrency industry.

Trump also started hedging on some of his immigration policies around the time he met with wealthy corporate executives at a Business Roundtable meeting.

A few months earlier, Trump publicly suggested that conservatives should give up on their opposition to Anheuser-Busch shortly before he attended a fundraiser hosted by an Anheuser-Busch lobbyist.

Perhaps most importantly, Trump abandoned his long-time skepticism about cryptocurrencies after having some chats with prospective donors at Mar-a-Lago.

Former president Donald Trump offered enthusiastic support for vaping on Friday, promising to protect the industry following a private meeting earlier in the day with a leading vaping lobbyist. Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform, that he "saved Flavored Vaping in 2019" and would "save Vaping again!"

Of particular interest was the process through which Trump changed his mind. Trump's new position "is consistent with the recent financial support he has received from the tobacco industry." It also came "just after a meeting with the head of the Vapor Technology Association, which describes itself as the leading vaping trade association, representing more than 100 members of the industry."

Trump isn't saying, "I'll change my position in exchange for money," he's instead effectively saying, "Since I don't care about governing or public policy anyway, I'll just align my beliefs with the preferences of wealthy people and prospective donors who have my ear behind closed doors."