The New York Times stated it as clearly as possible: “It is hard to imagine a candidate more unworthy to serve as president of the United States than Donald Trump.”

If, even at this late stage of the election cycle, you’re still considering a vote for Trump, you needn’t wade through the litany of Trump’s failings to course correct. You need only consider one thing — something so overwhelmingly determinative that it leaves no other option but to vote for Harris for President.

It all comes down to what happened after the 2020 Presidential election. You may think you are already familiar with the events that occurred. But if you truly were, you wouldn’t be thinking about a vote for Trump. So it’s worth taking another clarifying look. Here goes:

Trump lost that election. There is no disputing this outcome — although Trump has certainly tried.

Trump’s initial response to the loss, back in November of 2020, was to claim the election was rigged and stolen. There is no evidence to support this claim. He just lied — because his ego would not accept the loss. Unlike every other losing candidate in our country’s history, he never officially conceded. Not back then. Not to this day.

Trump did have a contingency plan in case of a loss: cheat. Find a way, legal or not, to remain in power. And that’s exactly what he attempted to do.

That’s why, in the days after the election, Trump and his allies filed over sixty lawsuits in swing states, claiming widespread voter fraud. As there was no evidence to support any finding of voter fraud, judges, including Trump-appointed judges, quickly dismissed the cases as having no merit. Around the same time, a series of recounts, including hand recounts, were conducted in contested states; not one led to a significant change in the results.

Having failed at the ballot box and in court, Trump next implemented a plan to create fake sets of electors that would support him when the Electoral College votes were counted in Congress on January 6 — with the obvious goal of allowing him to retain the Presidency. The scheme was clearly illegal. That’s why many of the fake electors and Trump staff involved in the plot have been charged with crimes — in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Nevada — with more charges possibly still to come. Several lawyers involved have also lost their licenses to practice law. And at the head of this criminal enterprise was, of course, Donald Trump.

For this fake elector plot to truly succeed, however, it also required Mike Pence, in his role as president of the Senate, to accept the fake slates on January 6 — or at least to claim there was a legitimate dispute as to which electors should prevail, causing chaos that would eventually land the process in the House, where Trump could be declared the winner.

When Trump’s illegal pressure on Pence failed to persuade the Vice President to go along, Trump had one last long shot: provoke his supporters at the January 6 rally to storm the Capitol in an attempted insurrection. Which is what happened — as the nation watched the violence unfold on television. The resulting assault led to the injury of over a hundred police officers amid cries to “Hang Mike Pence.” Trump, meanwhile, sat in the White House for hours and watched it all play out on television — without lifting a finger to stop it.

In the immediate fallout from January 6, Trump was impeached by the House. A majority of the Senate (including 7 Republicans) next voted to convict Trump — who escaped a guilty verdict only because the votes fell short of the required super-majority. However, over 700 of the rioters have since been convicted for their actions that day, with most of them serving time behind bars. Trump, meanwhile, continues to describe the rioters as patriotic heroes. He shows not even an iota of contrition.

None of the above is speculation. It is what actually occurred. And Trump’s lies about all of it continue unabated. As do his promises that there will be more of this same criminality and immorality if he is re-elected.

Trump himself has been indicted for his actions and currently awaits trial. But the fact that Trump’s legal fate remains in limbo is not a permission slip to vote for Trump. In essence, everyone voting in this election is a juror in a national trial — with the future of our democracy at stake.

And the choice comes down to this: No matter what you may like about Trump or dislike about Harris, it doesn’t matter. Who you think will do a better job handling the economy is important — but it doesn’t take precedence over this. When a person, a President no less, attempts to overthrow the results of a free and fair election and engages in multiple crimes in his attempt to do so, that person cannot be returned to the White House. Period.

As an aside, whenever I read op-eds in traditional conservative media, such as The Wall Street Journal — or hear Republican pundits on CNN — critique Harris or defend Trump in ways that imply a recommendation to vote for Trump, my astonished response is: “Are you serious? Are you actually saying that it’s okay to ignore Trump’s election interference and the insurrection when deciding one’s vote? If not, then what are you saying?”

There are dozens of reasons you should not be voting for Trump. But you don’t need more than just this one. There is no rational way to both accept the truth of Trump?s actions in 2020 and decide that it’s okay to vote for him now. They are mutually exclusive propositions. You can’t ignore what Trump did. You can’t side-step it. You can’t excuse it. There is no middle ground. Trump must be defeated.