New York Times columnist Frank Bruni ripped President Trump over his claim that crime has decreased in El Paso, Texas, since a wall was constructed around the city, calling it a make-believe strategy during an interview on CNN’s “New Day” on Wednesday. 

“The president is finishing the wall the way I’m finishing dinner right now,” Bruni, a staunch Trump critic and CNN contributor, said to “New Day” anchors John Berman and Alisyn Camerota. “His strategy here is very clear: His strategy is make believe.”

{mosads}”A couple of days ago, he stood there on a stage in El Paso and said crime went way down here after a walk was constructed, after a barrier went up,” Bruni continued. “That was not remotely true, and he was told that again and again, and he did it anyway.

“He has spent four years conditioning his admirers to believe everything he says, and more to the point, disbelieve everything we say,” Bruni said. “There’s a reason he’s been saying ‘fake news’ for four years. It’s for moments like this so he can say, “Don’t believe what they’re telling you, believe only what I say.’”