“The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me,” read the statement, which was released by the campaign. “This does not represent the man that I know. He has the heart and mind of a leader. I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world.”—Melania Trump

Sorry, but I don’t think it’s that simple. What we have here is a man, a Presidential candidate, who doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of character. Character building begins in infancy and is a life-long process. It is the creation of self in pursuit of one’s full potential, affected by those who bear us and reinforced by how we are raised. If you were to civilize a man, begin with his grandmother.

Sexual assault is a crime of power and control. Let’s be perfectly clear. It is never the fault of the person who is assaulted. Trump has taken on a way of life rooted in his own illusionary vision of power and control. He is a hack whose actions depend to a great extent upon fear, ego and a lack of self-confidence and self-control. It is this spur of his ignorance, an innate consciousness of willful intent, no matter how disdainful or distasteful, of not wanting to understand because he expects to get away with it. In this sense, Donald Trump is a man who will do anything, fully with the understanding that he will suffer no consequences. He is incapable of climbing beyond the limitations of his own character. Character does not rely on success. It is more fundamental, preceding and outlasting all rewards. It is what your name stands for, and when it is lost, it is rarely ever recovered. His behavior to date has been nothing less than vulgar, vile, narcissistic and paternalistic.

So how does he handle these situations? His fallback is pivoting and transference. In his world, he is never responsible for anything he says or anything he does. His latest lewd comments are denounced as “locker room talk”, “boys will be boys” and “all men do the same thing”. Well, not exactly. First, his heart is not in the right place. Second, self-praise provides no credible recommendation and is not the same as self-confidence. He has found himself in a rat race and even if he thinks he has won, he is still a rat. His reckless pursuit of success has overtaken any sense of decency and respect for his fellow citizens, especially women and the “others”. His so-called fame has turned out to be a double edged sword and he has no one to blame but himself.

I will always remember the admonishments my parents gave me and my brothers whenever we left the house, whether heading to school, visiting friends or just interacting with our neighbors or the local neighborhood kids. “When you walk out that door, you are representing this family and its name. Act accordingly”. Donald Trump has made his choices. It is time for him to be held accountable for those choices. He is completely unfit to be President of The United States.