Did you ever try talking to someone about religion? Bad idea. Same thing seems to be true for Trump. Somehow people have a religions dedication to this man. They are emotionally invested in him. It is truly like a cult. I think media saturation on the right, which is a large part of media, has accomplished this. That includes Twitter, which Musk has quite strongly slanted toward Trump. Here is a map from 2018 of right-wing Sinclair-owned stations:. I believe their media outlets have expanded since then. There is also the Murdoch empire, which now includes print, TV and radio.
This is not an exhaustive list of the right-wing media, which pumps non-stop Trump propaganda to its audience.
Have you ever watched a FOX show? I have. I try to open my mind and understand different points of view. I've watched (little bits because it's painful) The Five, the most watched show on cable. You work in a school, so when I tell you the level of discourse is on par with a bunch of junior high school boys making fun of everyone else, then you get the idea. They are always laughing at people. They are Trump lite. They are crude, rude and cruel. Their attraction is purely emotional.They make the viewer feel like it's a social group and the viewer is on the inside. The viewer 'belongs'. When The Five laughs at someone, it's always somebody else.
You can't really discuss anything with that group, or the people who are attracted to it, because their commitment is emotional and they won't let go of that sense tht they belong.
Long comment....sorry. We are in the throws of a potential national disaster. Let's hope, as you say, there are enough courageous people in government, people who regard themselves as Republican, who are willing to stop this train wreck.
I think one of the other key things that really stood out to me is many of the people I have talked to only seem to be concerned about the short term. They are so focused on the here and now that they aren't seeing the larger picture and the damage all of this is going to potentially do. I guess that is about on par with the rhetoric. I will say, despite the things I mentioned above, my conversation with those folks was probably one of the most civil I have seen on social media concerning this topic as of late.