But my sense of relief was tempered by warning bells. To roughly paraphrase the old line about government, a general who is strong enough to save you is also big enough to take away everything that you have. Or, as The Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali so eloquently notes, “if our future choices come down to ‘right-wing coup’ or a ‘military coup to prevent a right-wing coup,’ we are f-cked.”…

However well-intentioned, Milley’s reported behavior constitutes a violation of both his legal authority and of norms—but the fact that I am still grappling with this ethical conundrum is indicative of how dangerous Trump’s presidency was and continues to be. When the most powerful man in the world attempts the unthinkable, you can either let him steamroll you, or you can break your own norms to try to stop him.

And when you try to stop him, in a sense, you become as bad (and as dangerous) as him. In this regard, Trump hasn’t just tarnished the presidency or the GOP, he has compromised many of our democratic institutions and the professional political and military class.