He was speaking as a businessman who has told everyone that that is what successful businessmen do - they schmooze with the politicians both incurring favor with each other.
He’s also said that it is part of the corrupt system of government enticing business with favors (and visa-versa) that he would like to see end. And as he is now on the government side of this equation, Trump has demonstratively renounced such cronyism, showing that it is not business but unconstitutional government to blame for such corruption.
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/in-2008-trump-dismissed-clinton-sex-scandal-as-totally-unimportant/