President Donald Trump is trying to scare the daylights out of Americans.

He began his presidential campaign by baselessly claiming that Mexico is sending rapists and drug dealers to the United States. During the campaign, he lied about ISIS’s origins, falsely claiming that his opponent Hillary Clinton “co-founded” the terrorist group along with Barack Obama. His speech at the 2016 Republican convention has been described as “one of the darkest, most foreboding, and aggressively fear-mongering speeches in modern political memory.”

A Time magazine commentator described Trump’s inaugural address as “a dark rumination on ‘American carnage’ …” (George W. Bush reportedly described the speech as “some weird shit.”) Barry Glassner, the author of “The Culture of Fear,” says of Trump: “[H]is formula is … uncomplicated: Be very, very afraid. And I [alone] am the cure.”

As the 2018 U.S. midterm elections approach, Trump continues to read from the same fear playbook, relying on “a strategy of fear [as] … part of a broader effort to energize Republican voters. …”

Trump has suggested, without providing any evidence, that a group of migrants headed north toward the United States includes gang members, violent criminals and vaguely identified “Middle Easterners.” New York University professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat explains that Trump is “trying to create this image of a wave of people of color, or threats, who are coming to invade the border.”

As others have noted, the fantastic plot Trump weaves is reminiscent of the story line in “Camp of the Saints,” the virulently racist novel adopted “as a sort of Bible” by Steve Bannon, the White House’s chief strategist in the first seven months of the Trump administration, and other anti-immigration activists.

“ Trump wastes his time dreaming up imagined dangers instead of attending to the real threats America faces. ”

Trump’s fear-mongering tactics undoubtedly play well with his base. One 75-year-old Republican in Minnesota worried that gangs of immigrants might occupy summer homes in her state, asking, “What’s to stop them?” The reality is that while he claims to be the one person who can defend the United States and keep it safe, Trump wastes his time dreaming up imagined dangers instead of attending to the real threats America faces. Consider:

• Over the past few days, more than 10 bombs were sent to former U.S. presidents, members of Congress, former national security officials and a national television news network. What they all seem to have in common: Trump has criticized them, describing them as dishonest, criminal or enemies. Rather than focusing on the security threat raised by the delivery of these bombs, Trump instead baselessly speculated the episode may have been a hoax, worrying that “this ‘Bomb’ stuff” will hurt Republican chances in the midterm elections. He suggested that the people or organizations targeted by the bombs may themselves be to blame, and, just after a suspect had been arrested, chuckled when he spoke to a crowd that shouted out George Soros’ name while others screamed “lock ’em up.” (Soros was one of the people targeted by the bombs.) Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, another person the bombs were addressed to, concluded that anyone who has publicly criticized Trump should take precautions and be on alert. Hearing Clapper’s words, it was natural to wonder whether he and others who have been targeted believe the president is committed to ensuring their safety.

• Trump built much of his 2016 campaign around the charge that Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was secretary of state was a criminal act that undermined national security. This week, there is reporting that Trump makes cell-phone calls over an unsecured iPhone. According to The New York Times, “American intelligence reports indicate that Chinese spies are often listening — and putting to use invaluable insights into how to best work the president and affect administration policy. …” Trump’s aides have informed him that these calls are not secure, and that Russian spies are routinely listening in as well, but the president has ignored those warnings. A former chief information officer in the George W. Bush administration calls the reports “stunning,” with “sweeping ramifications for intelligence and the security of the American people.” She added that, if the reporting is correct, “this may be the largest, most significant breach of White House communications in history.”

• On Saturday, an anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist murdered 11 people and wounded six others at a Pittsburgh synagogue. The killer reportedly blamed Jews for bringing “invaders” to the United States in the “caravan” of people coming north from Central America. Hours after the shooting, Trump joked that he was considering canceling a speech before the Future Farmers of America — not because of the massacre, but because he was having a “bad hair day.”

Under the circumstances, Trump’s hair joke was poorly timed, to say the least. But it’s symptomatic of a far more serious problem: The president refuses to change his routine, to tone down his conspiracy-theory-laden rhetoric, even after acts of horrific violence were carried out by deranged individuals who take those conspiracy theories to heart. After the bombing suspect was arrested, a defiant Trump said of his own rhetoric, “I could really tone it up,” rather than softening his words.

Trump is not personally responsible for the attempted bombings or mass murders we’ve seen in the past few days (which also include an attack by a white man who murdered two African-American people before telling another white man “whites don’t shoot whites”). Trump is responsible for his dangerous rhetoric, which, as columnist Max Boot observes, is like “applying a match to … kindling.”

In light of events over the past week, with every rally Trump holds before frenzied crowds shouting “lock them up,” with every reference he makes to “globalists,” and with every suggestion that a “caravan” of scary non-white foreigners is preparing to invade the United States, Trump is spraying lighter fluid on a roaring fire. Trump claims to prioritize security. His actions show us precisely the opposite.

Chris Edelson is an assistant professor of government in American University’s School of Public Affairs. His book, “Power Without Constraint: The Post 9/11 Presidency and National Security,” was published in 2016 by the University of Wisconsin Press.