It would be an overstatement to say there have been no bipartisan talks related to the government shutdown. Early last week, with just one day remaining before the shutdown deadline, Donald Trump welcomed congressional leaders from both chambers and both parties to the White House for a conversation. (The president agreed to the meeting after a series of odd public reversals.)

Though the Republican has bragged for years about his alleged world-class dealmaking abilities, Trump barely even tried to negotiate an agreement; he responded to the meeting by promoting offensive, AI-generated videos; and the government shut down soon after.

A week later, the president said something unexpected about the process of resolving the standoff. “We have a negotiation going on right now with the Democrats,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon. “That could lead to very good things.”

For those eager to see the shutdown end, the comment offered a degree of hope — at least initially. It wasn’t long, however, before the public learned that the talks the president referred to did not, and do not, exist.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that he hadn’t “heard a word” from the White House since Trump’s failed meeting early last week. Around the same time, fellow New York Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer released a written statement that read in part, “Trump’s claim isn’t true — but if he’s finally ready to work with Democrats, we’ll be at the table.”

Trust is at the heart of all effective negotiations, which makes it all the more significant that the president keeps lying — about what Democrats are seeking, about undocumented immigrants’ access to health care coverage and, as of Monday afternoon, even about the existence of bipartisan talks.

At the same White House event, Trump added that he’d be open to “the right deal” with congressional Democrats, but quickly added, in reference to the Affordable Care Act and coverage costs, “You have subsidies, that’s the problem with Obamacare. The subsidies are so much, it’s billions and billions of dollars is being wasted.”

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Or put another way, as the ongoing government shutdown reaches the one-week mark, the president isn’t just boasting about imaginary negotiations, he also seems to have moved further away from the Democratic position that created the breakdown in the first place.

Hours later, the Republican leader elaborated on his position by way of his social media platform. “I am happy to work with the Democrats on their Failed Healthcare Policies, or anything else, but first they must allow our Government to re-open,” he wrote.

First, the ACA is a popular and effective program.

Second, Trump’s latest position is that Democrats should give Republicans what they want, at which point the president might consider working with the minority party — in some undetermined way, at some undermined point — after they no longer have any leverage.

This probably won’t prove effective. Call it a hunch.