A great many Americans claim that they cannot vote for former President Donald Trump because they loathe him.

That was also their argument in 2016 and 2020.

That argument was childish in 2016 and 2020, and it remains childish in 2024.

I say “childish” because mature people don’t vote on the basis of whom they like. They vote on the basis of which candidate is best for their country. As I asked both eight years ago and four years ago, other than friends and a spouse, whom do you choose based on how much you like a person? Do you choose your surgeon on that basis? If you or a loved one had cancer and were presented with a choice of two surgeons, one known to be an honorable man and loyal husband, the other known for his abrasive personality and for being a womanizer but also known as one of the best cancer surgeons in the country, which would you choose?

We all know the answer. So, why would you choose a president based on marital fidelity or personality traits?

Though they always mention Trump “the liar” (as far as truth-telling is concerned, Trump is Abe Lincoln compared to President Joe Biden), Trump “the adulterer,” Trump “the mean,” and now Trump “the felon” (although no one can tell you what he was charged with), Trump haters would respond that those are not the only reasons why they would never vote for Trump. He is, they constantly tell us, a threat to democracy.

Trump haters have to say that — because they know that merely listing his alleged and actual obnoxious personal traits makes them look foolish. The problem, however, is that the claim that Trump would end democracy in America is baseless. He was already president for four years, and he in no way threatened democracy. Of course, Trump haters will point to Jan. 6 — and only to Jan. 6, because they have no other example from all four years of the Trump presidency of Trump allegedly threatening democracy.

But Jan. 6 is a phony example. That day, Trump explicitly told his supporters to go peacefully to the Capitol. And it was Trump who, on Jan. 4, explicitly requested and authorized 10,000 National Guard troops to guard the capital and the Capitol. It was Nancy Pelosi and the mayor of Washington, D.C., who refused his request.

Then there are Trump’s repeated claims that the 2020 election was “stolen.” That claim, according to Trump haters, constitutes a “threat to democracy.” But Hillary Clinton repeatedly said that she was “robbed” of a victory, that the 2016 election was “stolen.” But not one Trump hater ever characterized her claim as “a threat to democracy.” Nor, for that matter, did any Republicans. Because that claim doesn’t constitute a threat to democracy.

The charge is made solely because Trump haters … hate Trump.

Furthermore, and most important, there has been, and is, a real threat to democracy. But it is coming entirely from the Democrats.

For the first time in American history, under Joseph Biden, the Department of Justice has been weaponized against political opponents.

For the first time in American history, this country has political prisoners. Steven Bannon and Peter Navarro are just two examples. Jan. 6 prisoners have been wildly overcharged and placed in solitary confinement over minor infractions.

For the first time in American history, a former president and the nominee of one of the two major political parties has been arrested and put on trial — on nonsensical charges, moreover.

For the first time in American history, an administration has colluded with Big Tech to suppress political speech they consider unfriendly.

For the first time in American history, one major party has attempted to remove the presidential nominee of the other major party from multiple state ballots.

And the intelligence agencies have been likewise politicized. Fifty-one current and former heads of intelligence agencies lied on behalf of the Democratic presidential nominee when they signed a statement right before the 2020 election declaring that the Hunter Biden laptop story was the product of Russian disinformation.

This country has a deep state that is dedicated to serving the Democratic Party.

Indeed, when it comes to marital fidelity, compared to three of the Democrats’ heroes — President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and President Bill Clinton — Donald Trump is a holy man.

And things will get much worse if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected. Government censorship of political opponents will increase. Arrests of political opponents will increase. And government control of industries — like setting food prices — has already been promised.

We know how bad things will get because we know what the Biden-Harris administration has already done to the country. Because we know what Harris and her fellow California Democrats have done to California. And because we know what Gov. Tim Walz has done to Minnesota.

To vote for the Democrats because one hates Trump is not merely childish. When how one feels about Donald Trump is more important than the future of the country, we are dealing with something far more serious than childishness.

We are dealing with destructive narcissism.

Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist. His commentary on Numbers, the fourth volume of “The Rational Bible,” his five-volume commentary on the first five books of the Bible, will be released in November 2024 and is available now for presale on Amazon. He is the co-founder of Prager University and may be contacted at dennisprager.com.