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Let us be clear.

Trump won the presidency last year because he vowed to bring inflation under control and because he said he would round up undocumented immigrants who were violent criminals and send them back home.

The president and Miller have had no luck bringing prices back to earth. The May inflation report saying we had experienced only a 2.4% increase—more than last year at this time, but less than the 3% economists feared because of Trump’s on-again-off-again tariffs and trade war threats—didn’t help Trump much.

“Not as bad as it could have been” doesn’t look as good on a bright red baseball cap as “Make America Great Again.”

And the rounding up of violent criminals who are undocumented immigrants?

Well, that requires labor-intensive investigation and time-consuming prosecution. Trump and Miller would have to find those offenders, prove they were guilty of actual crimes and only then send them out of the country.

All that sounds like work—and neither Trump nor Miller ever has been overburdened by a demanding work ethic.

Making sure that they’re actually punishing people who are guilty would take time, effort and energy they just don’t have.

Particularly when the world’s richest man, erstwhile Trump ally Elon Musk, has accused the president of being a pedophile. Musk did so without proof, of course, but the fact that he owns and operates one of the world’s largest social media platforms guaranteed that the charge would receive wide distribution.

And if there’s anyone on the planet who understands how irrelevant standards of proof and evidence are in the digital age, it would be Donald Trump.

There’s also the fact that the people who decide American elections—suburban voters—have begun to realize that this president doesn’t care much about the issues that concern them.

He swore that he would bring the price of eggs down immediately, end the war between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours and establish an instant peace in Gaza.

None of that has happened.

Instead, it’s become abundantly apparent that the rest of the world has a clear understanding of Trump—an understanding that eludes his most devoted followers.

Other world leaders know the Trumpian method of negotiation. They realize that he will threaten something drastic—draconian tariffs or other forms of coercion—that often are as damaging to U.S. interests as to those of the country Trump is trying to intimidate. They grasp that once Trump realizes he has shot himself in the foot rather than inflicted damage on his adversary, he will back down or reverse course.

All they have to do is wait.

Thus, the new acronym that irritates the president to no end—TACO, for Trump Always Chickens Out.

It’s at moments such as these when it has become clear that both Trump and Miller begin searching not just for someone else to blame for their own failures but also a way to divert attention from those failures. Doing so gives them a way to stir up Trump’s base and keep the MAGA crowd from realizing their leader hasn’t delivered on any of his promises.

Hence, the crackdown on what largely have been peaceful protests in Southern California.

The inspiration apparently was Miller’s. Because he wanted the Trump administration to be able to show it had recorded high numbers of deportations, he decided not to look for violent criminals but instead crack down on day laborers just trying to build better lives for themselves and their families.

Miller got what he wanted—and more.

Trump’s base has been energized but so has an opposition that just days before had been rudderless and adrift. Democrats and independents still do not agree on much of anything they might want in terms of national policy, but they are in lockstep on what they don’t want.

More high-handed and duplicitous bullying from Trump and Miller.

Worse for the president and his Svengali, businesses in the hospitality industry said Trump’s crackdown was making it almost impossible for them to find workers.

Trump responded to this complaint in his typical fashion.

He said his administration would ease up on efforts to deport undocumented immigrants who work in restaurants and hotels.

TACO, anyone?