Except for a brief stint as a college undergraduate, when I registered as a Democrat to support a sorority sister’s father in his run for sheriff, I have always been a Republican. I have voted for each Republican presidential candidate since 1976 when I cast my first ever national vote for Gerald Ford. Some votes have been given more enthusiastically than others. But I have never missed an opportunity to support the GOP presidential candidate.

This year, however, Donald Trump is making it increasingly difficult for me to follow that trend.

Don’t get me wrong — I really want to find a reason to vote for him. But every time I think my conscience will allow me to do so, he says something incomprehensibly stupid. And I roll my eyes and shake my head.

To wit: Trump responded to the powerful address made at the Democratic National Convention by a Muslim father, Khizr Khan, whose son was killed in Iraq. Speaking in an interview on ABC’s This Week, Trump did not honor the son’s sacrifice for his nation, or recognize the grief of the Gold Star family. He rebutted that he had “made a lot of sacrifices too.” He also questioned why Mrs. Khan did not also address the crowd.

Trump’s remarks did not go over well, even among Republicans. Bill Kristol tweeted this:

Watch this. Then tell me @realDonaldTrump meets the minimal standards of character & self-awareness to be president. https://t.co/D0zAR1oIP1

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 30, 2016

American Conservative writer Rod Dreher wrote: “Normal, decent human beings do not attack Gold Star mothers and fathers. Even though the Khans did enter the political fight with their endorsement of Hillary Clinton, if you have any sense of humanity in you, you just do not attack Gold Star mothers and fathers. Period. The end.”