During his campaign for the US presidency, Donald Trump made a memorable quip about the resilience of his support in the face of revelations about his behaviour: “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot someone, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?” he said, miming the cocking of a revolver’s hammer as he looked straight into the camera lens.
Like many of Mr Trump’s utterances it seemed hyperbolic at best, demonstrably false at worst. At least it underlined that point about the need to take his rhetoric seriously, if not literally. But, a little over a year and a half into his administration, it looks as though it might be that rare thing from this president — a verifiably true statement.