On second thought ...

President Trump, who prides himself on his flexibility, twisted like a contortionist Wednesday on a number of positions he had staked out during the campaign:

Candidate Trump railed against China, charging Beijing was hurting Americans by manipulating its currency.

“The US Treasury’s designation of China as a currency manipulator will force China to the negotiating table and open the door to a fair — and far better — trading relationship,” a statement on his campaign Web site said. But in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Trump reversed course.

“They’re not currency manipulators,” he said, claiming the Chinese had changed course on their currency policies in recent months.

In September, Trump accused Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen of keeping interest rates low to boost stocks and help President Barack Obama look good.

As president, though, he told the Journal he’d consider renominating Yellen, because “I like her. I respect her. It’s very early.”

Candidate Trump repeatedly ripped NATO during the campaign, charging that the alliance was outdated and had done nothing to fight terrorism.

“NATO is obsolete,” he declared in March 2016.

But Trump said Wednesday that NATO is an important ally in the war on terror.

“I said it was obsolete. It’s no longer obsolete,” Trump said at a White House news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

And then there was Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom candidate Trump praised.

“I think that I would probably get along with him very well,” Trump said.

At the news conference and for the past week, Trump painted a far darker portrait of Putin, slamming him for supporting the regime of Syrian despot Bashar al-Assad.

The president said Wednesday relations with Russia could be at “an all-time low.”