That Trump, whose mental impairment is made obvious every time he opens his mouth or sends out a tweet, wouldn’t understand the impact of a government shutdown is entirely wholly unsurprising. Still, you might think that someone in his administration—perhaps the people who just got a sweet raise?—would have been aware of the consequences ahead of time. But you’d think wrong!

Senior administration officials . . . [told The Washington Post] they were focused now on understanding the scope of the consequences and determining whether there is anything they can do to intervene.

Late Monday, the White House said it had figured out a way for the Internal Revenue Service to issue refunds even if the shutdown extends into the filing season. That’s good for taxpayers, but unfortunately, it actually takes some of the pressure off of Trump to strike a deal, increasing the likelihood that President Man-Child will dig in until he gets funding for his precious wall. Of course, without a deal, thousands of other government functions remain beholden to the whims of a guy who doesn’t know his ass from his elbow. And, as he’s made abundantly clear, he couldn’t care less if federal employees—currently being advised to unclog toilets for rent—go unpaid, a point of view that presumably extends to whether or not 38 million Americans lose their food stamps, or thousands of people get evicted because, oops, a Department of Housing and Urban Development program expired on January 1.

Luckily, the president totally has a plan to end the suffering:

Just what the shutdown doctor ordered: 60 minutes of incoherent rambling about steel slats, rapists, invented-on-the-fly caravans, and an internal debate over whether or not the wall is “desperately needed” or already built and paid for. Everyone can breathe easy!

If you would like to receive the Levin Report in your inbox daily, click here to subscribe.