After Donald Trump Jr. released emails on Twitter basically proving the Trump campaign’s collusion with the Russian government, the media and Internet basically exploded. Those on the right scrambled to find ways, no matter how ridiculous, to defend the first family while those on the left proceeded to laugh in the faces of their Trump-loving counterparts. This story simply could not be escaped. And rightfully so. Because this is a big deal. And we can’t forget that it is, even in the craziness of the Trump era.

A sitting president and his campaign colluded with a foreign government to influence the American election. Let that sink in. A sitting president, who promised to put “America first,” colluded with a foreign nation to bring down his American opponent. Patriotic, right? And he defends his son’s decision to meet a Russian government attorney to receive information about Hillary Clinton’s possible collusion with Russia by describing this entire ordeal as “just politics.” Back when the executive branch had the tiniest amount of integrity, this kind of “politics” would never have been acceptable. So why do people seem to lower the bar for this president? Why do some people refuse to hold him and his campaign fully accountable for colluding with a foreign government possibly at the expense of American democracy?

To all those who are somehow still aboard the Trump train, I ask you how and why. I am not attacking you or intentionally judging you for your decision to continue to support our president despite this scandal; I genuinely want to know your reasoning for staying behind him. Since the very beginning of his campaign, Trump promised to put America first through everything. That platform is what sold many of his supporters. But how can one put America first while owing the Kremlin favors for all its help during the 2016 presidential campaign?

At this point, someone is going to bring up Hillary Clinton and her supposed record of corruption and collusion. During her time as Secretary of State, Clinton did accept money for the Clinton Foundation from foreign governments like Qatar and Saudi Arabia, possibly resulting in a conflict of interest. There are also many other accusations against Clinton, too many to list here. Why is the classic Clinton argument not a strong defense for Mr. Trump’s actions? Because Hillary Clinton is not the President of the United States. If she did become president, Americans would have the right to worry about her possible conflicts of interest. There, however, has never been sufficient evidence that she was heavily influenced by these donations during her time as Secretary of State. (For the record, I’m not excusing Ms. Clinton for taking these donations. I don’t think she should have taken them while she was still in the State Department.) Mr. Trump, on the other hand, is the president. If he has conflicts of interest, which he evidently does, his conflicts of interest can heavily influence the nation, as it has possibly influenced the election outcomes. Now, I’m not here to call Mr. Trump’s win into question once again as countless others have. I’m just here to say that pointing fingers at someone else and listing all their crimes do not make any of your own crimes fade away. That is something our president and his supporters need to understand. Rob Gladstone, a former tabloid reporter who exchanged emails about the Russian meeting with Donald Trump Jr. wrote that Russian officials were willing to disclose classified information to the Trump campaign because of “Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” If that doesn’t sound like deliberate collusion to you, then what is?

Now, to all the remaining supporters out there, how would you feel if Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama were to set up a meeting with foreign officials to get dirt on a political opponent? You would be angry, right? You would call them out for being unpatriotic and putting their selfish political aspirations over the good of the country. That is exactly what our president did. This is not normal, and we shouldn’t pretend it is. We shouldn’t grow indifferent just because a Washington scandal seems like an everyday occurrence now. We should value our democracy and our country. We cannot be okay with a foreign power slowly taking hold of our country’s leaders.

To those who are still adamant supporters of our president after this scandal, I challenge you to have a civil discussion with me. I challenge you to defend our president without using Clinton’s or Obama’s names. I challenge you to educate me on your unwavering support. Because believe me, I tried to give our president a chance. But I just couldn’t. And I definitely can’t now that Donald Trump Jr. has basically admitted to the Trump campaign’s collusion with Russia. So let me know. I would love to learn.