Gaetz’s withdrawal follows sexual misconduct allegations involving a 17-year-old girl. The major media will undoubtedly credit this moment of accountability to the integrity of this or that Republican senator in some arcane Senate maneuver that only the experts understand. But the real hero here is the public.

Polling shows that Gaetz was the least popular of Trump’s motley group of nominees. In fact, he was the only nominee whom the majority of Americans surveyed disapproved of. Thankfully, (alleged) sexual assault of minors is still a red line. Gaetz’s withdrawal shows Donald Trump’s power is not absolute. Not even close.

Gaetz’s withdrawal is an object lesson in a simple fact: even a president like Trump can’t be a dictator. I’m not arguing that The System Works. And I do believe that Trump as president can and will do dangerous and damaging things. But I think we should focus on the real things rather than imagined ones. Hyperbole might make for better ratings, but it leaves the public misinformed as well as uninformed about the actual bad stuff that’s happening. Worst of all, fearmongering, like obsessing over process, disempowers ordinary people. When you tell people fascism is here and that government amounts to opaque processes you can’t understand, they disengage.

Now let’s see how long Pete Hegseth lasts.