President Trump just set three traps for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Soon to be Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi over immigration and they walked right into them, as Thomas Lifson at the American Thinker reports:

President Trump clearly shocked House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer yesterday with his televising of the Oval Office sit-down over his demand for $5 billion funding for border security, including funding of critical mileage for his border wall.

Knowing well that Pelosi had already vowed publicly that “transparency and openness” would characterize the Democrat-run House starting next month, her plaintive request to speak in private scored points for Trump and revealed her hypocrisy before any substance at all was considered.

Getting Pelosi and Schumer to reveal their hypocrisy was trap one, here’s trap two:

That was merely the first of three traps Trump had prepared for the Democrats’ congressional leadership.

Trump’s second trap is his bold declaration of ownership of any “government shutdown.”

Democrats have convinced themselves that what is called a “shutdown,” but really means furloughing non-essential federal workers, is a tragedy, a scar on the nation’s psyche.

The fact that federal workers are now a major and solid constituency for Democrats skews their perception of the public’s concern.

Aside from cancelling sleigh rides in national parks and other such photo dramas, the fact is that life goes on very well for nearly all Americans during the furlough.

They learn that there are a lot of non-essential government workers.

Here’s trap three that Pelosi and Schumer walked right into:

The third trap is maneuvering the Senate Democrats into standing for open borders, or at least ineffective border security.

The current House of Representatives will pass the funding.

It is in the Senate, where is 60 vote filibuster could be employed, that would be the obstacle.

Never forget that Trump was the most successful producer of reality television in the history of the medium.

He understands drama and a story arc.

Chuck Schumer leading a Senate filibuster right before Christmas to stymie border protection is exactly the story Trump wants the nation’s TV viewers to absorb.

He is immeasurably aided in crafting his third trap narrative by the Democrats’ acceptance of and belief in the narratives peddled by their allies in the mainstream media.

Just as they believe that the voters share their own horror over a “partial government shutdown,” they also believe their own rhetoric about a wall being “immoral” (Pelosi) or “wasteful” (Schumer).

But the arrival of the Central American caravan and the reaction of Tijuana’s political leadership and citizens, has changed the game.

Democrats think they’re smarter than everyone else, but the truth is exactly the opposite.

They’re super easy to fool and half of them are insane.

Thank you President Trump for standing firm on this issue.