President Donald Trump might have just offered a preview of how he and his fellow Republicans plan to fight the Democratic Partys increasingly ambitious agenda.

The Democrats, Trump said during a Thursday rally in Evansville, Indiana , want to raid Medicare to pay for socialism. The statement drew quizzical looks and snark on social media , because Medicare is about as close to a socialist program as you will find in the U.S. It is the government providing a service, health insurance for the elderly, in lieu of the private sector.

So, taken literally, Trump was saying that Democrats want to raid socialism to pay for socialism, which doesnt make a whole lot of sense.

But Trump was probably making a clumsy version of the pitch that helped him get elected and that continues to keep his base loyal namely, that Democrats want to shift money and status away from the kind of people who voted for him and give those things to others.

His message to supporters, in other words, was that Democrats want to raid your socialism to pay for theirs.

Its not crazy to hear a racist dog whistle in there, given Trumps history . It certainly wouldnt be the first time that a Republican tried to rally white voters by telling them that Democrats were going to take their money and give it to nonwhite people.

But whatever deeper message Trump was or wasnt trying to send, he was also making an argument about policy.

And that argument appears to be wrong.