Every so often I wonder if I could, like so many conservatives, hold my nose and support Donald Trump if he fell more in line with the policies I support. As hard as it is to imagine a man who has refused to pay contractors as a champion of universal health care, or someone who abuses their power for personal gain to institute a fair, progressive tax, the answer I always come up with is no. Absolutely not.

The problem with Donald Trump is not, and never has been, that he is a conservative. A leader is not a collection of policy positions. They are a person, whose conduct and rhetoric are every bit as important as their legislation. And the most serious objections to the Trump’s presidency are not partisan. He is a contemptible, corrupt human being first, and a Republican second. He is:

A Weak Leader

Lies, distorts, and gaslights with such regularity that it has made it nearly impossible to do a live fact check (1, 2, 3)

Is unapologetically hypocritical and wildly inconsistent on policy positions (4, 5, 6, 7)

Tries to manage and govern through bullying and fear mongering, hallmarks of personal weakness (8)

Creates and stokes conspiracy theories with no basis in reality (9, 10)

Consistent sophomoric conduct unbefitting a president or emotionally healthy adult

Personal and political history show someone remarkably selfish, egotistical, and narcissistic who acts solely out of self interest (11, 12)

Consistently attacks press, even after they’ve have been targeted by terrorist attacks, and has expressed interest in limiting their first amendment rights (13)

Frequently engages in racist, xenophobic, and Islamophobic fear mongering and hedges when asked to condemn white supremacy (14, 15, 16)

Attacks private American businesses to sate personal vendettas (17)

Has heavily contributed to a major decline in political discourse

Openly Corrupt

Openly tried and continues to try to use the justice department to attack political opponents (18, 19)

Flagrant emoluments violations, using the office of president to enrich himself and his family (20, 21)

History of personal criminal behavior, including tax dodging, fraud, and misuse of funds (22, 23, 24)

Used his charity for profit and personal benefit to such an extent that it was shut down by the New York AG, stating “Our petition detailed… unlawful coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and willful self-dealing, and much more. This amounted to the Trump Foundation functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests.” (67, 68, 69)

History of not paying employees and contractors (25, 26, 27)

Consistently undermines important democratic norms (28, 29)

Has hired and appointed staff with their own litany of scandal, corruption, and indictment (30, 31, 32, 33)

Refuses to release tax returns, showing a lack of transparency and potentially hiding further criminal behavior, misrepresentation of personal wealth, emoluments violations, and conflicts of interest

Has abused pardon power to do political favors and reward loyalty (34, 35)

Has continually abused and attempted to extend executive power to obstruct justice for personal and political gain (36, 37)

If campaign did not collude with a foreign power, as it is suspected of doing, expressed a desire to do so (38)

Has been credibly accused of sexual assault by numerous women (39)

Illegally used campaign funds to silence women with whom he had affairs (40)

Fighting all investigation on foreign election tampering, leaving future elections vulnerable

Abuses power by trading political favors to protect himself from being prosecuted (41, 42)

Incompetent

Severely damaged American foreign policy relationships; praises violent dictators while insulting and alienating allies (43, 44, 45)

Is cowed when dealing directly with hostile foreign powers (46, 47, 48)

Demands staff be loyal to him rather than requiring competence and loyalty to country (49, 50)

Has had massive staff turnover (51)

Very slow to fill crucial open positions in state department and other agencies (52, 53)

Started a trade war without real motivation or effective strategy (54)

Touts business experience but wealth and success has been largely inherited and exaggerated (22, 55)

Conducts explicit nepotism, which is both an ethics violation and shows poor management (56, 57)

Takes frequent vacations and reportedly works very even when in the oval office (58, 59)

Hypocritically, until recently has used and allowed staff to use personal devices for government work (60)

An inarticulate, inelegant, occasionally incomprehensible speaker (61)

Has proven totally unable to take or respond to criticism (62, 63)

Shares classified information aimlessly without any apparent forethought (64, 65)

So erratic and unreliable that his own staff feels it necessary to undermine him (66)

Oh, hey look, it’s a handy infographic that would be convenient to share on social media

Many of these things should be disqualifying on their own. Of the 37 points, 28 of them are well documented, indisputable fact, while 3 are still under investigation. 6 could be put down to opinion, though mostly, like Trump’s self involvement and inability to take criticism, are easy to demonstrate if not 100% objectively provable. All claims are sourced where necessary. I used neutral and conservative sources where possible, but filled in with more left leaning publications when it was helpful to gain a more complete look at an issue or event.

I would never dream of persuading an enthusiastic Trump supporter to see the undeniable issues with his leadership. They’re too indoctrinated and their ability to deny reality is too highly developed. But there are, I like to believe, apathetic non-voters who can be convinced to act and conservatives who can be persuaded to put country before party. These are the people I’m talking to.

We don’t need a single member of Trump’s base to have an overwhelming majority. A majority in condemning his corrupt behavior, in criticizing his inept leadership, and in protecting the country from his destructive tantrums.

Sources:

1 https://qz.com/1448460/the-bitter-reality-for-journalists-covering-a-president-who-lies-and-lies-and-lies-some-more/

2 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/11/02/president-trump-has-made-false-or-misleading-claims-over-days/

3 http://projects.thestar.com/donald-trump-fact-check/

4 https://www.vogue.com/article/6-things-trump-criticized-obama-for-and-is-now-doing

5 https://www.reddit.com/r/TrumpCriticizesTrump/top/?sort=top&t=all

6 https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/28/opinions/trump-hypocrisy-hate-glaring-obeidallah/index.html

7 https://www.indy100.com/article/trump-twitter-anonymous-source-news-media-barack-obama-birther-8512886

8 https://www.npr.org/2018/08/20/640234368/as-the-president-tweets-attacks-melania-trump-speaks-out-against-cyberbullying

9 https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-conspiracy-theories-2016-5

10 https://www.npr.org/2018/08/04/635668304/member-of-disbanded-trump-voter-fraud-commission-speaks-out

11 https://www.businessinsider.com/nyt-trump-tried-change-fred-trump-will-2018-10

12 https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trumps-mental-health-is-pathological-narcissism-the-key-to-trumps-behavior-126354/

13 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45973436

14 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/us/politics/donald-trump-khizr-khan-wife-ghazala.html

15 http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/the-conversation/sd-brief-history-between-judge-curiel-donald-trump-20180227-htmlstory.html

16 https://apnews.com/7d824d4df86649fd98c4ba63a8015d0c

17 https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-criticism-of-amazon-its-personal-1523007001

18 https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/trump-urges-sessions-to-investigate-his-political-foes

19 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/trump-s-distorted-view-justice-reward-friends-punish-enemies-n903506

20 https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2018-03-05/how-is-donald-trump-profiting-from-the-presidency-let-us-count-the-ways

21 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-emoluments/emoluments-case-alleging-trump-violated-constitution-can-proceed-us-judge-idUSKBN1KF2GZ

22 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-tax-schemes-fred-trump.html

23 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/06/trump-university-court-upholds-25m-settlement-to-give-students-money-back

24 https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2017/06/06/how-donald-trump-shifted-kids-cancer-charity-money-into-his-business/#42376c836b4a

25 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/06/09/donald-trump-unpaid-bills-republican-president-laswuits/85297274/

26 http://fortune.com/2016/09/30/donald-trump-stiff-contractors/

27 https://newrepublic.com/minutes/134137/donald-trump-doesnt-like-pay-small-businesses-hires

28 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/05/21/here-are-the-political-norms-that-trump-violated-in-just-the-past-week/?utm_term=.a5a4d470a576

29 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/02/trump-department-of-justice-robert-mueller-crisis

30 https://www.wsj.com/articles/paul-manafort-jury-trial-verdict-day4-1534861860

31 https://thehill.com/regulation/administration/402906-cohen-pleads-guilty-to-federal-charges

32 http://fortune.com/2018/07/05/scott-pruitt-epa-trump-resigns-scandal/

33 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-shine/trump-names-former-fox-executive-bill-shine-to-communications-job-idUSKBN1JV2IW

34 https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/the-administration/390163-president-trumps-recent-use-of-pardoning-power-a-cause

35 http://thefederalist.com/2017/08/28/joe-arpaio-pardon-trump-level-political-theater-way/

36 https://www.brookings.edu/research/presidential-obstruction-of-justice-the-case-of-donald-j-trump-2nd-edition/

37 https://www.thenation.com/article/donald-trump-is-actively-obstructing-justice/

38 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-we-know-about-the-2016-trump-tower-meeting-and-why-it-matters

39 https://www.businessinsider.com/women-accused-trump-sexual-misconduct-list-2017-12

40 https://www.vox.com/2018/8/21/17765348/michael-cohen-guilty-plea-stormy-daniels-hush-money

41 https://newrepublic.com/article/148651/problem-trumps-pardons

42 https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/10/trump-scotus-pick-kavanaugh-favors-shielding-presidents-from-probes.html

43 http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/07/17/9-charts-on-how-the-world-sees-trump/

44 https://news.gallup.com/poll/225761/world-approval-leadership-drops-new-low.aspx

45 http://www.pewglobal.org/2017/06/26/u-s-image-suffers-as-publics-around-world-question-trumps-leadership/

46 https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/06/12/shep-smith-has-a-scathing-assessment-of-the-trump-kim-summit-heres-what-he-said

47 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44852812

48 https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/16/trump-putin-fox-news-724372

49 https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/02/01/what-trump-really-means-when-he-demands-loyalty/?utm_term=.22dd3127bbcc

50 https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/10/donald-trump-media-loyalty-cnn-bombs

51 https://thehill.com/homenews/395222-ap-trump-admin-sets-record-for-white-house-turnover

52 https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/trump-still-hasnt-filled-top-jobs-and-he-has-mostly-himself-to-blame/

53 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/d3kwww/trump-administration-understaffing-crisis

54 https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/08/news/companies/tariff-job-cuts/index.html

55 https://www.forbes.com/sites/erincarlyle/2015/06/16/trump-exaggerating-his-net-worth-by-100-in-presidential-bid/#cf0919d2a974

56 https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/ivanka-trump-nepotism-incompetence-donald-trump-jared-kushner-white-house-a8123686.html

57 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/01/opinion/donald-trump-ivanka-jared-kushner-nepotism.html

58 https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/10/trump-schedule-executive-time

59 https://trumpgolfcount.com/

60 https://mic.com/articles/192082/donald-trump-three-phones-heres-how-to-have-more-secure-chats-than-potus#.lRLzNRacU

61 https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/donald-trump-sentence/

62 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/321500-trump-unable-to-name-a-time-when-he-deserved-criticism

63 https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-donald-trump-criticism-insults-political-correctness-20160801-story.html

64 https://www.forbes.com/sites/charlestiefer/2018/05/31/trump-wrongly-revealed-a-classified-syria-clash-at-a-50000plate-ny-fundraiser/#747af6847fba

65 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump%27s_disclosures_of_classified_information

66 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opinion/trump-white-house-anonymous-resistance.html

67 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-agrees-to-shut-down-his-charity-amid-allegations-he-used-it-for-personal-and-political-benefit/2018/12/18/dd3f5030-021b-11e9-9122-82e98f91ee6f_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.e474d9c63d22

68 https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-foundation-shut-down-770607/

69 https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/18/trump-foundation-to-shut-down-1067924