If you’re the boss, you can fire people. Donald Trump, the businessman, built a company – and a TV show – on the premise. Mr. Trump, as president, has followed a similar model. He fired the FBI director for allegedly conducting a “witch hunt” into collusion between Trump campaign officials and the Russians to influence the US election. Conservative media pundits now say Trump should fire special counsel Robert Mueller, too.

It’s plausible that Trump is mulling the idea. The president seems to enjoy going on the offensive.

But running a country, with democratic checks and balances, is not quite the same as running a business. If Trump fired Mr. Mueller, Congress could turn around and “rehire” Mueller. On Tuesday, we watched as US Attorney General Jeff Sessions was grilled about his contacts with Russia. But all of this may be a sideshow to the central question we keep asking at the Monitor: What’s the best way to protect American democracy? Bloomberg says Russian cyberattacks last year hit 39 states – twice as many as previously reported.

A good CEO doesn’t just fire, he also brings in top managers: Has Trump hired the best talent to deal with Russian attacks?

As James Comey told a Senate Intelligence Committee last week: “They’re coming after America.... They will be back.”