I joined CNN International’s George Howell on Monday morning to link two stories: Donald Trump’s “national emergency” to bypass Congress for The Wall with Mexico, and his photo-opportunity summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un in Vietnam.

We discuss the realities around the issues. The Democrat-led House will soon pass a measure to challenge Trump’s declaration, and North Korea — as all US agencies have assessed — is not pulling back its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

But Trump’s game is not reality. It’s the image which counts for him and his advisors:

What Donald Trump’s doing is — whether it’s The Wall or North Korea — create a crisis, whip it all up, and magically say, “I’m here to resolve it.”

It’s sort of like hitting someone upside the head, saying, “Are you feeling poorly?”, and then handing them some snake oil.

The whole game is to create the illusion that this is the man who rules while Washington is divided.