Axar.az presents the article “Madness in great ones” by John Samuel Tieman.

When Donald Trump was elected president, my worst fear was simple. A madman might start a nuclear war. For this reason, I read with intense interest prereleased excerpts from the book, “Peril”, by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. As Shakespeare said, “Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.”

Our constitution is a product of the Enlightenment. It is pre-Freudian. It relies upon reason rather than mental health as we understand it today. But the Founders could foresee problems if any one official were to be put in charge of a war. A distribution of power checks someone with ill intent. A civilian, the president, oversees the military. Commander-In-Chief is not a military rank. Commander-In-Chief is a constitutional office held by a civilian. As Georges Clemenceau put it, “War is too important to be left to the generals.” The ability to declare a war is given solely to Congress, with limited emergency powers allocated to the president. Congress also holds the purse. However, in an emergency, the president is permitted, by the 1975 War Powers Resolution, to commit the armed forces to a foreign intervention for 90 days. This can be done unilaterally, without congressional authorization, and within minutes. Put simply, the president can indeed launch a nuclear attack.

What if the president is dangerously crazy? Throughout Donald Trump's term, many mental health professionals warned of his instability. There was a lot of talk of malignant narcissism. (It is worth noting that not everyone with a mental illness is dangerous. Abraham Lincoln, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, Franklin Pierce and Calvin Coolidge all likely suffered from depression.) Regardless of the diagnosis, what we are considering is a mental disorder of such magnitude that it can make someone dangerous. In this case, that someone was the president.

General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff, came to a simple conclusion in the last days of the Trump presidency. The president was crazy. He might start a nuclear war with China. Milley twice contacted his counterpart in China, General Li Zuocheng, and assured Li that, despite Trump's behaviour, there was no danger. Milley went so far as to say that, “If we're going to attack, I will call you ahead of time.” He made sure that any presidential nuclear order was to be cleared with him, Milley, first. His actions were extraordinary and disturbing. He is criticized by many, and praised by many others.

What frightens me is that a general was put in this position in the first place. That Pres. Trump made erratic decisions, that he was often irrational, that he was cruel, racist, xenophobic, misogynistic, Islamophobic, that Trump blatantly lied, it wasn't like any of this was a secret. I don't fault Gen. Milley for his decision. I fault the Republicans for theirs. The Republican Party protected Trump, supported him, made excuses for him. Few Republicans ever denounced Trump, from the speech in which he declared his candidacy and called Mexicans “rapists”, to Trump's January the 6th speech in which he incited insurrection. Trump was dangerous. Someone had to do something.

There is an almost sacred trust given to our elected officials. We expect them to do what is best for their constituencies, and expect them to follow their own consciences. At times, these are in conflict. The constituency wants this, but the representative knows this is not best. As for Trump, it's not like this was a tough call. Yes, thwarting Donald Trump may well cost many Republicans their reelections. There are more important things than reelections.

It is disturbing that Gen. Milley made plans to thwart an order by his Commander-In-Chief. What is more disturbing is that elected Republicans abnegated their duty to thwart a madman. Someone had to do something. The general should get a medal.