President Fox News Grandpa saw something on television again, and now he's tweeting with all the nuance and informed restraint of someone whose brain is marinating in a tub of cable-news sludge. Our fearless leader was, of course, spewing non-truths, particularly with regard to the DACA program. But there was also a hint of his growing concern about how he is perceived on the immigration issue.

It all kicked off Sunday, as the president spent Easter morning presumably watching Fox & Friends and tweeting complaints about U.S. immigration policy based on what came on-screen:

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Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws like Catch & Release. Getting more dangerous. “Caravans” coming. Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW. NO MORE DACA DEAL! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2018

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Mexico is doing very little, if not NOTHING, at stopping people from flowing into Mexico through their Southern Border, and then into the U.S. They laugh at our dumb immigration laws. They must stop the big drug and people flows, or I will stop their cash cow, NAFTA. NEED WALL! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2018

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These big flows of people are all trying to take advantage of DACA. They want in on the act! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2018

Like Jesus said, "They must stop the big drug and people flows."

This is not what DACA is, and this is not how anything works. First of all, Trump ensured DACA would expire on March 5. Second, DACA—an acronym for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals—applied only to young people brought to this country when they were 16 or younger by undocumented parents, and who have lived here continuously since 2007. People coming to this country now are not eligible.

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Never mind that Trump loves to tout a decrease in border crossings since he took office, thanks to how strong he is on immigration. Yet now, there are apparently "big flows of people," and it's everyone's fault except his.

Perhaps his new concern is related to Fox's coverage of a "caravan" of Central American migrants making its way through Mexico towards the southern U.S. border. BuzzFeed has the lowdown on that:

First, the background: Right now, there is a massive group — hundreds and hundreds — of Central Americans who are headed toward the US border. They're in Mexico without authorization, but no one's made any effort to stop them.

Where are they from? About 80% are from Honduras. They’re fleeing poverty but also political unrest and violence.

Who organized this caravan? A group of volunteers called Pueblos Sin Fronteras, or People Without Borders. Yes, the volunteers are also surprised by the size of the group.

Dude, I’m still not clear on why a caravan. The caravan is intended to help migrants safely reach the US, bypassing not only authorities who would seek to deport them, but also gangs and cartels who are known to assault vulnerable migrants.

So on Monday morning, following a segment on Fox & Friends about the caravan, Trump doubled down with another flurry of repetitive-yet-inconsistent Presidential Proclamations:

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Mexico has the absolute power not to let these large “Caravans” of people enter their country. They must stop them at their Northern Border, which they can do because their border laws work, not allow them to pass through into our country, which has no effective border laws..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2018

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...Congress must immediately pass Border Legislation, use Nuclear Option if necessary, to stop the massive inflow of Drugs and People. Border Patrol Agents (and ICE) are GREAT, but the weak Dem laws don’t allow them to do their job. Act now Congress, our country is being stolen! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2018

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DACA is dead because the Democrats didn’t care or act, and now everyone wants to get onto the DACA bandwagon... No longer works. Must build Wall and secure our borders with proper Border legislation. Democrats want No Borders, hence drugs and crime! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2018

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Mexico is making a fortune on NAFTA...They have very strong border laws - ours are pathetic. With all of the money they make from the U.S., hopefully they will stop people from coming through their country and into ours, at least until Congress changes our immigration laws! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2018

Again, Trump ended DACA, and there is no "bandwagon" because no one new can jump on. But in a typical bit of Strong Leadership, he wants credit for killing DACA while casting blame on Democrats for any trouble that arises in its absence.

Trump seems to realize that immigration is the one issue he can't refer himself or look weak on. It is the most potent emblem of the demographic and cultural changes in America that makes his base of disproportionately old, white, conservative voters so profoundly anxious—and angry.

That's why he has been flagrantly lying about his Big, Beautiful Wall, suggesting in tweets that construction has already begun—it has not—and supplying photos of a project that began in 2009 to repair to a '90s-era section of wall in a bit of genuine Fake News. Based on these explosions on Twitter, it seems clear that his meetings with immigration hardliners this weekend had a major takeaway: he's in danger of looking soft on the foundational issue of his campaign.

Trump does not believe in the concept of objective truth in the public discourse, and he knows his base is entirely ensconced in the information bubble of Fox News, talk radio, and conservative digital media. They are unlikely to hear about it when he says something untrue, and can rationalize it away if they do. So he simply says things, over and over, in the hopes they'll take hold.

In the Trump era, anything is true if enough people believe it. It's worked well enough so far—will it be good enough if he never builds The Wall?

Jack Holmes Politics Editor Jack Holmes is the Politics Editor at Esquire, where he writes daily and edits the Politics Blog with Charles P Pierce.

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