5 Campaign Promises Donald Trump Is Already Hedging On

Donald Trump's bid for president that ended with his upset election-night win was defined by a firebrand campaign style full of brash promises and crowd-rousing proclamations.

Now that Trump has won the presidency, though, he's already softening, hedging and, in some cases, reversing some of his most notable campaign pledges.

Here are five then-and-now instances of promises he made during his campaign and what he and his surrogates are saying now that he is president-elect.

Obamacare

Then: "On day one of the Trump Administration, we will ask Congress to immediately deliver a full repeal of Obamacare," reads the official health care policy position on Trump's campaign website.

Now: In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, among other media outlets, Trump said he's open to keeping at least two parts of the law: prohibiting insurers from denying coverage because of a pre-existing condition and allowing kids to stay on their parents' plans until they are 26.

“I like those very much,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal of those two provisions.

'Lock her up'

Then: The chants became a staple of his campaign, and during the third debate, he told Hillary Clinton he would appoint a special prosecutor to make sure she ends up in prison.

Now: Asked in a "60 Minutes" interview if that was still part of the plan, Trump said he's "going to think about it."

"I don’t want to hurt them, I don’t want to hurt them,” Trump said of the Clintons. “They’re, they’re good people. I don’t want to hurt them."

Muslim ban

Then: On Dec. 7, Trump declared he was "calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on."

Now: Trump's Muslim ban briefly disappeared from his campaign website after Election Day but was restored days later. When he was visiting the White House, a reporter asked him if he would ask Congress to ban Muslims from entering the United States.

He appeared to hear the question, according to reporters in attendance, but walked away.

The wall

Then: On his website, Trump promises "an impenetrable physical wall on the southern border, on day one."

Now: On "60 Minutes," Trump acknowledged some parts of it may be just fencing. “For certain areas I would (use fences), but certain areas, a wall is more appropriate,” he said. “I’m very good at this, it’s called construction.”

'Who's gonna pay for it?'

Then: "Mexico will pay for the wall," Trump's website says.

Now: On a conference call sponsored by Denton, "the world's largest global elite law firm," Trump ally Newt Gingrich admitted the talk of wall payment was unrealistic.

"He may not spend much time trying to get Mexico to pay for it," Gingrich said of the wall.

"But it was a great campaign device."

Image via Gage Skidmore, Flickr, used under Creative Commons