Behind the curtains

Miles Taylor, a former Department of Homeland Security official, described to Anderson Cooper some of the more bizarre aspects of what when on at DHS behind the scenes.

For example, Trump would often call DHS and ask them to implement something he'd heard Fox' Lou Dobbs mention on his late night show.

Another was the vote to separate immigrant children, whether they had entered legally or not, from their families as a deterrent. When DHS explained they were not ready (presumably in hind sight both because of the questionable legality and the logistical issues of keeping track of family ties), Trump simply asked his cabinet to "take a vote".

Or when Trump suggested "busing and dumping" immigrants into sanctuary cities, and Taylor had told Chief of Staff John Kelly that this was certainly an illegal use of federal funds, Trump announced that "they were looking into it".

This last example is particularly telling; it exemplifies Trump's disdain for the law, and the fact that he does not think it applies him. He knows from experience that if he persists he would probably find a way to circumvent it.