I’ve spent four decades reporting from countries with weak institutions — like Russia, China, every Arab state, Turkey, Iran, Venezuela — where the arbitrary whims of the leader or his party are the basis of all decision-making, not the rule of law, built on independent institutions.

But Trump appreciates none of this. It would be easy to attribute it all to malevolence. But I think a lot of it is sheer ignorance. I don’t think Trump ever took civics. I don’t think he ever understood the separation of powers or the meaning of independent agencies. That’s why the shutdown doesn’t bother him. His instincts are those of a banana republic dictator.

That’s also why Trump is so comfortable with the likes of Vladimir Putin and so willing to damage the thing that makes America most special.

And that’s why I so appreciate Roberts’s quiet pushback so much. It’s why I also appreciate those retired military officers who have been willing to call out Trump’s abuse of norms and his willingness to use the U.S. military as a prop for his political purposes.

As CNN reported, Trump used a Thanksgiving Day call to U.S. service members abroad to “justify his controversial deployment of nearly 6,000 U.S. troops to the southern border. Without evidence, he painted Air Force Gen. David Lyons as a proponent of his hard-line immigration policies after Lyons said U.S. troops are fighting in Afghanistan to prevent terrorists from reaching ‘our shores again.’”

On a post-Christmas visit to Iraq, CNN reported, Trump used his appearance before troops to hammer Democrats for not supporting his wall funding “and also posed for photographs with at least one service member who was holding a Trump-Pence campaign sign, and he autographed red ‘Make America Great Again' hats for troops in fatigues, despite military guidelines that prohibit active-duty troops from participating ‘in partisan political activities’ and the expectation that they keep their political views private while in uniform.”

The Washington Post reported that on a tour of Border Patrol stations in McAllen, Tex., last week, “Trump gathered 15 agents, dressed in uniforms and tactical gear, to stand next to him as he filmed a minute-long video. ‘They have done an incredible job,’ said Trump, sporting a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat. ‘But we all want to see a wall or a barrier because that will make your job even easier.’ … The agents remained silent, but the visual message was clear: Trump wanted viewers to believe Customs and Border Protection, an agency of 59,000 employees, is firmly behind him in a political skirmish that has resulted in a partial government shutdown.”