In the long term, however, the changes may undercut the Turkish democratic model — one that has served as a vivid contrast to the failed governance in many countries in the Middle East. “The Turkish republic, such as it was, was more important to us than access to Incirlik Air Base,” said Eric Brown, a Hudson Institute researcher, speaking Monday at the Bipartisan Policy Center. “It meant having a stable republic, bringing together a diversity of people in a multiethnic society, demonstrating it was possible to have healthy politics. That’s no longer there. Turkey is programmed to have greater instability going forward, and much greater frailty.”

This was strategically dumb. “Right now the vote is contested, the OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] mission statement was scathing about the unfairness of the referendum campaign and the procedural irregularities and deviations from rule of law,” former ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman tells me. He notes that “the only entities to congratulate Erdogan were Azerbaijan, Qatar, Hamas, Ahrar al Sham and now Donald Trump.” In short, Trump’s call “provides Erdogan with legitimacy he doesn’t deserve and the U.S. has gotten nothing in return for it.”

Trump’s conduct undercuts our moral authority in the world, sacrificing a point of leverage with friends as well as foes whose human rights records we abhor. Making himself the pal of oppressors at the expense of the oppressed plays into dictators’ narrative that the United States cares not one whit about dissidents, minorities and activists. (Imagine if Ronald Reagan had commended the Soviets on one of their fake elections rather than labeling it the “Evil Empire.”) Moreover, in a world in which we need more stable allies who will not be subject to internal revolt and constant turmoil, Trump becomes a remarkably non-constructive voice. He should listen to Haley — or better yet, make her secretary of state.