Donald Trump is a 34-times convicted felon who incited a violent attack on Congress to treasonously overturn the 2020 Presidential election.       

He repeatedly attacks Socialism—while blatantly supporting brutal Communist dictators Kim Jong-Un, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

He is a notorious adulterer who has been twice divorced—and has repeatedly stated that he has more than fatherly feelings toward his daughter, Ivanka.

He claims to be a genius as a businessman—but has left a trail of bankruptcies and furious creditors in his wake.

So why did Republicans almost unanimously stand by him despite the wreckage he made of American domestic and foreign policy?

His supporters fell into two groups: Republican voters and Republican politicians. And each had their own reason for supporting him:

Republican voters: Hatred—they were seeing him humiliate and harm those they despised, and enjoying the experience. These targets included Blacks, Hispanics, liberals, “uppity” women, Muslims, the highly educated and the legitimate news media.

Republican National Convention – 2024

Republican politicians (at state and Federal levels): Fear—that he would turn his fanatical, hate-filled base on them, and deprive them of their privileged positions in Congress and/or governorships.

They also saw him as the guarantee of their power. And if he were impeached or voted out of office, he would lose his influence—and so would they.

There was a historical precedent for this.

While the Nazi Party ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945, its influence over all aspects of Germans’ lives was suffocating.

“Censorship prevailed, education was undermined, family life was idealized, but children were encouraged to turn in disloyal parents,” reads the back cover of Richard Grunberger’s classic 1971 book, The 12-Year Reich. 

“‘Volk’ festivals, party rallies, awards, uniforms, pageantry all played a part in the massive effort to shape the mind of a nation.” 

And yet, after the Reich surrendered unconditionally to the Allies on May 8, 1945:

• Countless Germans claimed to have hidden Jews in their attics—despite the fact that six million Jews died horrifically before the Reich fell.
• American and British soldiers couldn’t find any German veterans willing to admit they had ever fought against Western, democratic nations.
• All the once-proud legionaries of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS swore they had been fighting “the real enemy”—the Russians—on the Eastern front.

In short: Adolf Hitler had lost the war he started—making him a loser nobody wanted to be identified with.

In the decades since, the “loser” tag has continued to stick with those who once served the Third Reich. Mel Brooks has repeatedly turned German soldiers—once the pride of the battlefield—into idiotic comic foils.

Even the fearsome Gestapo was spoofed for laughs on the long-running TV comedy series, “Hogan’s Heroes.”

“Hogan’s Heroes”

“Americans love a winner,” George C. Scott as George S. Patton says at the outset of the classic 1970 movie. “And will not tolerate a loser.” 

Trump has been convicted of multiple crimes, but Republicans continued to slavishly support him. If they hadn’t, he would have been:

• A figure held up to ridicule and condemnation.
• Like Adolf Hitler.
• Like Richard Nixon.

And his supporters at state and Federal levels would have been branded as losers along with him.

Republicans vividly remembered what happened after Richard Nixon was forced to resign on August 9, 1974: Democrats, riding a wave of reform fever, swept Republicans out of the House and Senate—and Jimmy Carter into the White House.

If Republicans were conflicted—whether to continue supporting Trump or desert him—the reason was the same: How can I hold onto my power and all the privileges that go with it?  

Ultimately, that question was answered for them during the November 3 midterm elections by millions of angry voters: Democrats won clear majorities in both the House and Senate.

As a rule, the President’s party fares poorly during midterm elections. Fearing that his base might not care enough to show up at the polls, Trump had repeatedly urged Republican voters to “vote like I’m on the ballot.” 

Donald Trump

Democratic voters did vote as if he were on the ballot. Because he was—if only through the policies he imposed. They had a litany of reasons to see his power weakened:

• Corruption;
• ICE raids;
• The Iran war;
• His rampant egotism;
• Desecration of the John F. Kennedy center for the Performing Arts;
• His fixation on vanity projects while countless Americans starved;
• Ordering the Justice Department to indict his critics;
• Attacking longtime allies like Canada while cozying up to longtime enemies like Russia and China.

Republicans who refused to vote or voted Democratic had a much simpler reason: They were fed up paying high prices for gas and groceries—and they rightly associated these with Trump’s Iran war and tariffs aimed at 60 trading partners.

They had cheered or stood by silently while Trump attacked one cherished American institution after another. But paying inflated prices for basic necessities was where they drew the line.

After the electoral drubbing Republicans suffered in the November midterms, future Right-wing leaders are likely to remember the priorities of their electorate: “Constitution be damned—my wallet, first and always.”