Let Trump shut down the government. Then watch him suffer the consequences.

Let’s see: Among all eligible voters, there are 40 percent more independents than Republicans. And 61 percent of independents oppose the wall even without a government shutdown while 36 percent support it. With the government shutdown in play, the number of independents opposed is likely to soar. So the losses among independents are likely to be far greater than gains from Republicans.

Trump, however, doesn’t believe this because, as far as he is concerned, border security and immigration controls have untapped voter appeal. That’s why, he thinks, Democrats were forced to back off when they shut down the government to push the legalization of DREAMers earlier this year. So it wasn’t the government shutdown that was unpopular, as far as Trump is concerned, but the Democrats’ cause.

His reasoning is, of course, nonsensical. Legalizing DREAMers was far more popular than the border wall ever was with voters. Of course he won’t believe this — unless he gets an overdue shellacking. Only if his poll numbers plummet below the persistent 40 percent approval rating he has enjoyed thus far will he be convinced that shutting down the government isn’t worth it. At that point, he might moderate his constant attacks on immigrants for the simple reason that after a point, they backfire — they don’t win him friends or voters.