A few years ago, I was walking down the aisle in Hannaford and a young African American woman came rushing up to me and said, “David, you need to talk to your species!” So, I asked this woman, who we’d come to know through the Bowdoin host family program, “Why, Kama?” And she said, “Because my white boyfriend just broke up with me, and he wasn’t very nice about it!”

Sometimes my “species” — males, especially white males— need a good talking to. And that time is now when it comes to the political situation or, more accurately, Donald Trump. A recent Quinnipiac poll showed that women prefer Biden (58%) to Trump (36%), while men prefer Trump (53%) to Biden (42%).

Let me apologize right here and right now for my species. A recent post on Facebook hit the mark. “The saddest part of 2016 was seeing how many people believed the worst rumors about a woman (Hillary Clinton) and ignored the worst facts about a man (Donald Trump).”

So here are a few questions for the members of my species who still support Donald Trump:

If you’re an independent contractor, why do you support a man who regularly stiffs contractors?

If you believe that honesty is the best policy, why do you support a man who created a fake university and a fake foundation?

If you believe that Trump is a successful businessman, then why did he declare so many bankruptcies and why did he and his business get fined for civil fraud in New York? On a related note, why did the deficit grow by a record amount while he was in office?

If you get tears in your eyes when you stand and sing the National Anthem, why do you support a man who led an insurrection to overturn the results of a legitimate election?

If you have a wife or daughter or sister or girlfriend, why do you support a man with a history of sexually abusing or verbally putting down women?

If someone you know is handicapped, why do you support a man who has a habit of making fun of people with handicaps?

If you believe in honoring our military, why do you support a man who dismissed John McCain (“I like heroes who don’t get captured.”) or states that a former chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff (Mark Milley) deserves execution for not agreeing with him? Or says that people who enlist in the military are “suckers?”

If you are a good respectable Republican who reads the Wall Street Journal on a regular basis, have you read some of the scathing editorials directed against Trump in the Wall Street Journal?

If you have contributed to Trump’s political campaign, does it bother you that $55 million of campaign contributions went to pay Trump’s legal fees in 2023?

If you’re concerned about immigration, does it bother you that Trump doesn’t want Congress to pass a bipartisan bill that included major efforts to ease the problem at the border because he believes that would hurt his campaign against Joe Biden?

If you’re a Christian, then why do you support the least Christian president in history?

Did it fill your heart with pride when Tucker Carlson went to Russia to “interview” Vladimir Putin? Incidentally, Putin wants Trump to be president again. Are you glad to be on the same team as Putin, politically speaking? Do you hope that Putin is successful in his effort to overtake Ukraine?

Would you be happy if the United States withdrew from NATO as Trump recommends?

Do you sincerely believe that all the indictments against Trump are merely political vendettas against his candidacy?

Do you believe that Trump and all future American presidents should get complete immunity for anything they do in office, including committing murder against political foes?

Well, that’s enough. I have more questions, but it’s high time for men who still support Trump to look in the mirror and ask themselves, “Who am I? What are my values? What kind of America do I want for myself, for my children and for future generations?”

David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary and suggestions for future “Just a Little Old” columns. dtreadw575@aol.com.

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