I think he cut a deal. They were threatening to go after his family, take his mansions, etc. Trump 1.0 tried to do a bunch of stuff and got blocked by judges and bureaucratic slog plus impeachment trials the entire time. Trump 2.0 immediately went from bo new wars to being involved in Iran and ukraine, no Epstein list, and more. Granted, he is also old and tired. But a deal seems to be the only explanation for me. And trump wants to be the deal guy even when the deal is poison, so it checks out on that end as well.