When it comes to attacking the many scandals that have unfolded around him, Donald Trump has a go-to phrase that he never tires of using. For example, the president labeled his Russia scandal a “witch hunt.” He used the same phrase to attack the Ukraine scandal that led to his first impeachment.

He stuck to the line when talking about the E. Jean Carroll case. And the classified documents case. And his criminal indictment in New York. And his criminal indictment in Georgia. And his criminal indictment related to the 2020 elections.

This is, of course, a small sampling. At various points last year, the Republican would publish “WITCH HUNT” messages to his social media platform when it wasn’t altogether clear what he was referring to. It seemed he just liked repeating the phrase over and over again, ad nauseum.

So it was probably inevitable that the president would use the phrase again this week, and as The New York Times reported, he did exactly that on Wednesday.

President Trump decried concerns over the transmission of military plans on the messaging app Signal as a ‘witch hunt,’ borrowing the language of persecution that he has applied to the many investigations that have targeted him and his campaign over the years as he sought to deny the seriousness of the leak.

In fact, at an event in the Oval Office, the Republican ended up using the phrase several times.

That Trump returned once again to one of his signature phrases is not surprising. On the contrary, he tends to see “witch hunt” rhetoric as a life-preserver of sorts, to be clung to during political storms.

But what made this latest instance notable is that apparently even the president doesn’t believe his own talking point.

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On Monday, for example, the White House confirmed the legitimacy of The Atlantic’s report, and a day later, the president told reporters that his administration would investigate the incident. Though Trump predictably downplayed the significance of the scandal, he at least conceded there was a “glitch” in his national security team.

The president also effectively acknowledged Mike Waltz’s mistake, telling NBC News that his national security advisor “has learned a lesson.”

If the debacle were a real “witch hunt,” there’d be no need for an internal review and be no “lesson” for Waltz to learn.

It’s strange enough that assorted White House officials and Trump administration Cabinet secretaries can’t agree among themselves on the legitimacy of the controversy, with some conceding there was “a big mistake,” while others dismiss the “entire story” as a “hoax.”

But it’s worse when Trump can’t agree with himself, either.