Donald Trump speaks in front of a border wall prototype near the Otay Mesa port of entry, San Diego, California, March 13, 2018 (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

I spoke with Monocle 24’s The Briefing on Wednesday about Donald Trump’s TV speech that began with a self-promoting bang — would there be a national emergency? — and ended with a whimper of false declarations and no prospect of an end to the Trump Shutdown.

The chat reviews Trump’s hyperbole and distortion about The Wall and the US-Mexico border and the inexplicable failure of Trump and his advisors to antcipate the consequences of the shutdown — but why, even with a cornered President, there is no resolution.

In 2014, Trump’s advisors wanted to make sure he mentioned immigration in each speech so they gave him “The Wall” as an easy-to-remember metaphor. But at some point that metaphor, in the magical workings of Trump’s mind, becomes this totem, this object he has to have — even if it has no use, even if it damns his other programs.

TrumpWatch, Day 719: Trump’s Non-Speech on Trump Shutdown and The Wall

Listen from 1:07: