As a lifelong Republican, I praised President Trump’s court appointments, deregulation, and tax cuts but I also criticized him when he was wrong on issues like tariffs and the national debt.

However, much more troubling is his recent attempt to use the active duty military for policing rioters. It appears that the firing of Secretary of Defense Mark Esper was in retaliation for Esper’s refusal to go along with such use of the military.

This is the kind of stuff that tin pot dictators do to have their way and it is much more serious than either Trump’s despicable personal behavior or his other policy errors.

We must be on guard for any similar acts.

Mr. Miller lives in Phoenix. His blog can be found here.