> I am genuinely at a loss at how his supporters don't understand this.
His supporters value blind loyalty and obedience, not logic. They don’t stand for themselves, they stand against others. They’ll gladly suffer if they think the other side is getting it worse. They’re the perfect target to be exploited.
Do you have a source for that? I hear that sentiment expressed often by Americans I meet here, but I never saw anyone explicitly saying "yes, I/we value blind loyalty". Is blind loyalty something Trump followers officially identify with?
Can you provide any source in history where someone said they identified with being a blind follower?
The evidence comes in the form of continued support after each incident of hypocrisy, lying, etc
Why would someone say they blindly follow someone when that's bad?
> I hear that sentiment expressed often by Americans I meet here
I am not American.
> but I never saw anyone explicitly saying "yes, I/we value blind loyalty".
Not only do they show it through actions, they talk about it constantly. All you need are the keywords “Trump loyalty” and you get more examples than you know what to do with.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/03/06/donald-tr...
> “I value loyalty above everything else—more than brains, more than drive and more than energy,” Trump once said. […]
> According to people who know him well, Trump’s definition of loyalty is blunt. “Support Donald Trump in anything he says and does,” […] “No matter what,” […] “Or else,” […] “I think he defines it as allegiance,” […] “And it’s not allegiance to the flag or allegiance to the country—it’s allegiance to Trump.”