There is no mechanism to suspend the role of the president as the head of the exec branch and the commander in chief (impeachment aside, which is unlikely). Is this the thing to complain about? Our militaries speaking with each other can only reduce the chance of war, especially from the fog of war, and there are theatres around the world where that could happen. Syria, Ukraine, Africa - there are places where our forces are in close proximity.

I don't want Trump negotiating on my behalf either, and I am deeply opposed to his performance this week. He undermined NATO, undermined the govt of the UK and EU while he was at it, and saved all of his praise for the dictator who most wants to undermine all those institutions, and the world order generally that has made the world so much more peaceful since WW II than it was before. And I object to repub tribalism that seems to prevent most repubs from criticizing these things, or his trade war, which are completely opposed to pre-Trump repub values, even if they support his tax cut, SC appts, and immigration policies.

Dems need to be on the lookout for the same tribalism. The good news is for all Trump's objectionable conduct this week, he hasn't changed the American commitment to NATO, to participation in NATO forces, commitment to the sanctions imposed on the Russians after their Ukraine interventions. So if one thing that comes out of the meeting with Putin is more military to military communication, that just seems to reduce chances of accidental flare ups. I'd call that a silver lining.