Many news pundits have referred to the indictment of former Donald Trump as “a sad day for America,” because a former president had never been indicted before. I beg to differ. Let me explain.

It was a truly sad day for America when millions of Americans voted for a man like Donald Trump to be President of the United States. In their blind enthusiasm, they loved the fact that Trump “isn’t like a typical politician” or that he “tells it like it is” or that he’ll “stand up for America.” They sensed that the system was broken and believed Trump when he said he would “fix it.” They were duped, and we’re all paying the price for their poor judgment.

It was a sad day for America when working class people supported a man with a long history of stiffing contractors.

It was a sad day for America when well-meaning Republicans who claim to stand for American values could vote for a man who had created a fake University and a fake charitable foundation.

It was a sad day for America when millions of women supported a man who bragged that he could “grab women by the p—y.” and had a long history of women accusing him of sexual molestation or worse.

It was a sad day for America, when 81% of white evangelical Christians could support a man who was, it could be argued, the most unchristian President in history.

It was a sad day for America when a person could be elected President, even though he received 3 million fewer popular votes than his opponent, Hillary Clinton.

It was a sad day for America, when a President viewed the military as “his military,” the judiciary as his legal team and our Constitutional norms as pesky nuisances to be ignored.

It was a sad day for America when a President would refuse to admit that he lost an election, strong-arm election officials to overturn results and, worst of all, lead an insurrection on the Capital, which cost several lives and hundreds of injuries.

It was a sad day for America when one of the nation’s leading cable networks relinquished all claim to legitimacy when they knowingly trumpeted Trump’s big lie, night after night. Happily, it seems that Fox News will be paying a huge price for their cynical, greed-driven decisions.

It is a sad day for American when millions of Americans still support this man who has proven time and time again that he is not only not up to the job, but that he does not believe in our democratic principles. It is even sadder that they continue to fork over their hard-earned money to bail Trump out of his legal troubles.

It is a sad day for America when Senator Lindsay Graham, one of the GOP’s senior figures, appears on Fox News and tearfully begs viewers to send their money to Trump. During the 2016 primary campaign Graham said, “Trump is a race-baiting xenophobic, religious bigot who does not represent my party.” Lindsay, you had it right the first time. You should have quit when you retained a shred of integrity.

It was a sad day for America when bombastic flamethrower Marjorie Taylor Greene and congenital liar George Santos showed up in New York on the day of Trump’s arraignment to support their hero, their fellow conman, Trump.

In conclusion, many days over the past seven years could be labelled “sad.” April 4, 2023, was not one of them. It was, in fact, a fine day for America, for American democracy and for the rule of law. With luck, we will witness many more fine days for America in the future as more indictments roll out, which will finally, at long last, once and for all, hold Donald J. Trump to account.

David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary and suggestions for future Just a Little Old columns. dtreadw575@aol.com.