Desperate for a major policy victory that would salvage a first year pockmarked with scandals, firings, and legislative strikeouts, Donald Trump is pushing hard for major tax cuts. Sort of.

One might imagine a typical strategy for passing tax reform would include making prime-time speeches, focusing public attention on the plan’s necessity, and leaning on key lawmakers to iron out the details. But Trump is not a typical president, and his strategy has been the opposite of everything in that previous sentence. His few speeches on tax policy have been vague and rambling. His recent public statements on Twitter have focused national attention on NFL protests and NBC reporting, rather than tax rates or benefits. And he has personally attacked (and sustained personal attacks from) GOP Senator Bob Corker, putting Senate Republican cooperation in jeopardy.

But the most bewildering aspect of Trump’s sales pitch might be the fact that he consistently undercuts his own case for tax cuts.

A popular argument for tax cuts is that they boost a sluggish economy. When Ronald Reagan passed his first tax cut in 1981, he said it was to stimulate a depressed economy. When George W. Bush passed his first tax cut in 2001, he said it was to stimulate a recessed economy. When Barack Obama passed his stimulus act, which included tax benefits, he said it was to stimulate an obliterated economy.