President Joe Biden, writes Politico’s White House Bureau Chief Jonathan Lemire, “has prioritized deal-making throughout the debt ceiling talks. But with GOP obstinate, Biden is changing tactics.”

What in the hell is he talking about, you may wonder. Only last month, Lemire’s publication reported that Biden was “happy to meet” with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., but “not on whether or not the debt limit gets extended. That’s not negotiable.” (Italics mine.) That doesn’t sound like someone who’s “prioritized deal-making” on the debt ceiling.

Back in January, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was unequivocal in saying that “we will not be doing any negotiation over the debt ceiling.” On April 27, The Washington Post reported, “White House reiterates refusal to negotiate on debt limit as pressure mounts.”

Biden’s position was widely known and defended. A slew of columns from Democrats like Dan Pfeiffer, an adviser to former President Barack Obama, laid out why Biden shouldn’t negotiate with McCarthy. Lefty reporter Ronald Brownstein attempted to rationalize the “logic behind Biden’s refusal to negotiate the debt ceiling”—which, not that long ago, was called “obstructionism” or “nihilism.”