As far as incursions into combat go, President Trump’s brief trip to Iraq last week is not likely to make any future leadership manuals. “What we had to go through, with the darkened plane, with all windows closed,” he said of his descent in a dimmed Air Force One to an airstrip at Al Asad Air Base. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

That’s actually pretty vanilla as these things go, a far cry from corkscrewing into Baghdad International to evade surface-to-air missiles, let alone crossing the Alps on a war elephant. But, after two years as commander in chief and a steady stream of complaints for not having done so, Mr. Trump did visit American troops stationed in a war zone.

It didn’t take long for many of the same people who criticized him for never making that presidential pilgrimage to express disdain for how he did it. His Iraq trip came in the wake of his announcement of a troop withdrawal from Syria, and coincided with a report in The New York Times on how his deferment for bone spurs during the Vietnam War might have come about. Cable news packed itself full with retired generals, foreign policy experts and seasoned journalists who’ve been to the proving grounds of war and found the president in contempt.

The visit was likened to a campaign rally. “Cadet Bone Spurs” trended on Twitter. Thinkers ranging from Noam Chomsky to Bill Kristol made cases for remaining in Syria in some capacity. Even on Fox News, the morning host Brian Kilmeade said, “Nobody thinks ISIS is defeated,” pushing back against Mr. Trump’s initial argument for withdrawal from Syria.