Some Americans. Trump won a plurality, not the majority vote, for those who bothered to vote. His approval rating is somewhere between 36% and 41% depending on the poll for the last several months. It's clear a decent number of the 77 million who voted for him didn't think he would behave the way he has in his 2nd term.

They didn't take Project 2025 or his alliance with the tech bros seriously. They didn't listen to former Trump officials who warned a second term would be a revenge tour and he would surround himself with loyalists and sycophants without anyone to hold his worst impulses in check. They didn't realize people like Stephen Miller would have such influence over his decisions. They didn't believe that Trump had such disregard for the rule of law and would actually prefer to rule like a king.

But people have been waking up to the new reality. Even some MAGA like MTG and podcasters like Rogan.