His response was characteristic for several reasons.

First, it reflected his obsession with his predecessor and apparent belief that anyone who worked in a past administration — even as a nonpartisan military officer — is somehow suspect.

Second, it underlined how the President sees almost every issue through a prism of how it affects his image and prestige. Trump’s first instinct when criticized is not to move on or shrug it off, even in deference to a great soldier’s sacrifice, but to see the critique as a motivated by political animosity.

The episode is a reminder of how the President tramples protocols as a matter of course in his normal daily rituals. The idea that any other recent commander in chief would take a shot at a military hero like McRaven, who is respected across partisan lines in Washington, is unthinkable.