Double if you include the family

Self defeating question, if we don't know about it we don't know.

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Ultimately, in a democracy, legitimacy really boils down to how much people are willing to tolerate, and that’s a very malleable metric, adjusted through fear, greed, hope, and all of the deceptions as well as legitimate plans that contribute to those motivations.

The people that I know that support him tend to have simplistic worldviews, and largely see him as a wrecking ball destroying what they were previously dissatisfied with. I suppose that’s not too far off, actually. It’s kind of like “giant meteorite for 2028” vibes, except they mean it.

Notably, the only people who wish for a political devolution are ones who haven’t lived through one. This doesn’t end well.

I living in a Republican part of the country, I think they believe power is its own morality.

A God that murders people because his feelings got hurt while demanding no one murder, a husband beats his wife and kids because he wasn't respected - these are valid in their moral framework, cruel asymmetrical power structures.

There is a dominant race, a dominant gender, and a dominant country in their view. Laws exist only to control the weak.

These people love Trump because he represents the slave owning, male-dominated, terrorist rebels that form the myth of who we are as a nation. His corruption and enrichment is why they love him.

People are really bad at acknowledging a mistake so they rather double down. It's way past anything rational, it's a cult. Doesn't matter what the leader/party does, it's always okay.

Ape-brained tribalism. Apparently many humans just operate without standards & principles, whether from incompetence or personal benefit. Good luck fixing that.

Let's say we got rid of Trump, but then who is going to be the alternative in your opinion?

You forgot to mention the Epstein files

I think any HN'er who previously voted republican has experienced enough disappointment; I doubt there would be anyone left.

The most important point for every political faction however is to realize that the problems aren't solved when the current president steps down. The real power that pushes the agenda rest in the hands of a loosely connected network of 'think tanks', religious organizations, tech billionaires and media moguls. They are hidden from the public discourse, simply because they are able to manage it, and as such are a formidable opponent.

> whataboutisms

Not a Trump supporter but from the ones I've spoken to it's mostly this. Something like, "They all do it, he's just honest about it."

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Why are you assuming this is corruption?

I don't think it's OK, but it's semi-understandable given the lawfare undertaken by Democrats after his first term.

I would say that despite whatever pardons (which I believe can only be federal, not state?), he pro-actively gives himself and colleagues, family etc when he leaves office he will be spending the rest of his life fighting spurious court case after court case, none of which will be cheap.

In that regard, having massive personal wealth makes some kind of sense.

//edit// deleted the alleged "Whataboutism"

what's wrong with that if he's making America strong? well-deserved I guess?