But they didn't drown the government in a bathtub. They cut a bunch of tiny programs that they were ideologically opposed to, at a savings amounting to a rounding error. All of the things that could be counted as "big government" were left untouched, or expanded.

They didn't even pretend to reduce the size of government. They just engaged in some petty grudges.

Which is, as you say, exactly what his voters want. They just pretend that it's "small government", but it absolutely is not.