I am appalled that there are still women out there who want to vote for Donald Trump. Trump has been inconsistent on many issues – such as health care, abortion, religious freedom, nuclear proliferation and taxing the wealthy. But he has remained reliably consistent in his practice of misogyny.

 I can minimally understand his appeal as a candidate – he is a tough businessman and is blunt and forthright, which can give the impression that he will bring greater transparency to government. His off-the-cuff way of speaking makes him almost the anti-politician, which I suppose people find refreshing. However, there is no reasonable logic behind why a woman would cast her precious vote, the thing that represents all that she values, for a man who unashamedly stands against the basic rights of the female sex.

In a recent interview with CNN about why she supports Trump, Arizona native Crystal Junior, explains that, “I just find that what you see is what you get with this man… And that is what I want.”

This kind of justification for what amounts to hate speech is unsettling. This woman has consciously chosen to ignore Trump’s caveman-like behavior towards women. Junior and others in her “Women for Trump” group claim that Trump gives it to you straight and they appreciate that. I wonder how well they would take it if Mr. Trump were to “give it to them straight” and appraised them on their faces, their figures? Would they appreciate him as much if he called them “fat pig,” “slob,” “face of a dog”? And if they stood up to him, maybe he would accuse them of being bad tempered because they were menstruating? Perhaps that would be enough to sway them?

In an article from the 1990s in New York Magazine, Trump is quoted saying, “Women, you have to treat them like shit.” This is Trump’s core belief. Perhaps that is what drove him to allegedly assault and then rape his first wife Ivana after blaming her for his painful attempt to surgically ‘fix’ his baldness. Yes, Mr. Trump, there is such a thing as marital rape.

He does not bother to hide the pleasure he finds in humiliating women. And let’s remember – this person is the leading presidential candidate for the Republican Party and, astonishingly, he shows no respect for half of the country’s population. Perhaps he thinks that talking about how well-endowed he is and how much hotter his wife is than Ted Cruz’s, or how his daughter is so hot that if she wasn’t his daughter, he’d have to date her, is enough to convince the American people that he is the best man for the job?

In his book, The Art of the Deal, Trump writes that women have “been among my best people.” The key word in this so-called compliment of women is the possessive “my.” Trump can be comfortable with the women who work under him, but not with those who are out of the area of his control, such as Fox News journalist Megyn Kelly or former Presidential candidate Carly Fiorina or Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.  All of these women have felt the unhinged wrath of Trump because they have dared to challenge him or have competed against him. He cannot handle the idea that women can be on the same power threshold as him. This is alarming indeed in a presidential candidate.

If there’s anyone out there in the voting public with a daughter, sister, mother, aunt, grandmother (which pretty much covers everyone) who still believes Trump is the best choice for the highest office in the land, I echo Megyn Kelly and say to you, “seriously?”