A sampling of Trump denying being a conservative for 35 years.
Donald Trump rejecting “conservative,” over time:
“I’m not a conservative.” — Larry King Live, 1988
“I’m not a conservative.” — Playboy, March 1990
“I’m a conservative in some ways, but I’m really a centrist.” — Playboy, 1990
“I’m not tied to conservative ideology.” — New York Magazine, 1990
“I don’t fit neatly into conservative doctrine.” — USA Today, 1991
“I’m not a conservative.” — Meet the Press, Oct 24, 1999
“I’m very liberal on healthcare and not conservative on trade.” — Meet the Press, Oct 24, 1999
“I don’t believe in conservative orthodoxy.” — Reform Party interview, 1999
“I’m not a conservative Republican.” — CNN interview, 2004
“Conservatives have been wrong about trade.” — Speech/interview, 2011
“I’m not conservative when it comes to trade.” — Fox News interview, 2012
“I don’t believe in conservative free trade.” — CNBC interview, 2013
“I’m not a conservative.” — Bloomberg Politics interview, July 2015
“I’m not a typical conservative.” — Fox News Sunday, Aug 2015
“This is not conservative ideology. This is common sense.” — Mobile, AL rally, Aug 21, 2015
“We’re not conservative politicians. We’re realists.” — Phoenix, AZ rally, Dec 2015
“I’m not a conservative.” — campaign interview, early 2016
“I’m not a conservative. I’m a nationalist.” — MSNBC interview, July 2016
“This isn’t conservatism. This is America First.” — Youngstown, OH rally, Aug 15, 2016
“Conservatives talked for years and never fixed anything.” — Scranton, PA rally, Oct 2016
“We’re not conservative ideologues.” — Grand Rapids, MI rally, Nov 7, 2016
“I’m not an ideologue.” — Wall Street Journal interview, Apr 2017
“Conservatives believed in endless wars. I don’t.” — Fort Myer speech, Aug 21, 2017
“I’m not conservative on spending.” — Fox Business interview, 2018
“Conservatives wanted to cut Social Security. I won’t.” — Orlando, FL rally, June 18, 2019
“We don’t follow conservative doctrine.” — Toledo, OH rally, Jan 2020
“We’re not conservative Republicans. We’re America First.” — Tulsa, OK rally, June 20, 2020
“Conservatives didn’t do what we’re doing now.” — Fayetteville, NC rally, Sept 2020
“Conservatives failed before I came along.” — CPAC speech, Feb 28, 2021
“This movement is bigger than conservatism.” — CPAC speech, Feb 26, 2022
“Republicans used to be conservative. That didn’t work.” — Mesa, AZ rally, Oct 2022
“We’re not conservative. We’re common sense.” — Ankeny, IA rally, Jan 10, 2024
“This is not conservative. This is common sense.” — Sioux Center, IA rally, Jan 11, 2024
“We are a party of common sense — not conservative ideology.” — Manchester, NH rally, Jan 18, 2024
“This is not conservatism. This is America First.” — Concord, NH rally, Jan 19, 2024
“We’re not conservative Republicans. We’re America First Republicans.” — Laconia, NH rally, Jan 22, 2024
“The conservatives talked and talked and never did anything.” — Nashua, NH rally, Jan 23, 2024
“They were conservative for a long time. It didn’t work.” — Derry, NH rally, Jan 23, 2024
“We don’t do conservative ideology — we do results.” — Rochester, NH rally, Jan 24, 2024
“This movement is much bigger than conservatism.” — Columbia, SC rally, Feb 10, 2024
“We’re not cutting Social Security. That’s conservative thinking.” — Conway, SC rally, Feb 14, 2024
“I don’t care about ideology. I care about winning.” — North Charleston, SC rally, Feb 14, 2024
“Conservatives failed for decades. We’re fixing it.” — Greenville, SC rally, Feb 17, 2024
“We are not conservative losers anymore.” — Rock Hill, SC rally, Feb 18, 2024