Trump Filibustered

If President Trump managed one thing with his televised pitch on Tuesday — ostensibly for his signature border wall — he pushed the Russian election-interference investigation out of the top news for a couple of days. Not surprisingly, his last-ditch effort came at a time when the new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives was getting itself gathered to direct its own attention to the president, his family, and his associates, and the Mueller investigation continued to pile up evidence — and guilty pleas.

Returning to the theme that launched his campaign, Mr. Trump made a number of demonstrably false claims. It was a filibuster of sorts, since even he must understand that a wall between the United States and Mexico would have only a marginal effect on already declining illegal immigration. Major networks and newspapers lost no time on Tuesday night debunking what he said about the numbers, drugs, and the effect on U.S. jobs. Also, even Mr. Trump must have understood that the wall had become a losing issue after his “caravan” mania leading up to the November election was shrugged off by voters in a solid Democratic rout.

This leaves distraction. If there is one thing the president knows it is the power of a shiny object. It is too bad for him that Robert Mueller and the House Democrats are not about to take the bait.