Berkeley Law professor John Yoo is very comfortable around controversy. But voting for then-candidate Donald Trump in 2016 was a step too far.

“His many personal and professional flaws, including his bankruptcies, sexual scandals, crude and cruel language, repelled me. I saw him as a populist, even a demagogue, who had not prepared for the heavy responsibilities of the presidency,” said the celebrated conservative legal expert with the University of California.