Trump’s plan to renew family separation, which created one of the worst firestorms of his presidency last summer, was the final disagreement that prompted him to fire Nielsen. She objected, citing court challenges, but CNN reported the president wants to separate them even if they are asylum seekers or arrive at a legal port of entry because he believes separation is an effective deterrent.

The Republican outcry, in private of course, led Trump to retreat again, so on Tuesday morning he said of family separation, “We’re not looking to do that” and, throwing a few falsehoods around, tried once again to blame the Obama administration for a policy he claims he stopped. To revisit: The Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy commenced in April of 2018 as a deterrent, making illegal entry itself a misdemeanor that required children to be taken from parents. Obama’s policy removed only the children from parents deemed criminal or a threat or suspected of not being the actual parent.

It’s not the first time President Trump has lied about it, and he gave himself away by concluding the flow will increase without such a deterrent, lamenting, “Once you don’t have it, that’s why you see many more people coming. They’re coming like it’s a picnic because ‘Let’s go to Disneyland.’ ”