In terms of his followers I would distinguish between

elected and unelected. I grew up in an area that was pretty evenly split between R's and D's (had been a long time R stronghold) and there was more agreement between the parties than disagreement. It was an area with good union manufacturing jobs and the area thrived.

Then came the late 70's and early 80's. The manufacturer's moved to Georgia to break the unions, interest rates soared and so did unemployment. I think it topped out around 23% and we were in the top 10 for unemplyment in the nation.

The economy recovered but those good jobs did not come back in the same way. There was some growth until the 2008 crisis when the area was back in the top 10 when it was named one of the 10 markets where home values would take the longest to recover thanks to the out of town subprime lenders

The county voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 16 and 20. I grew up there so I know a significant part of it is racism and a backlash from Obama's election but it is also a frustration over their lives being upended and made increasingly difficult. I have written before about my view on the confluence of the Civil Rights movement and offshoring and how the silmultaneous nature deflected responsibility for the societal changes so I wont repeat that here.

These folks have not shared in the gains of the last 40 years in the way many others have. Ironically we now have a company that wants to build an EV battery factory and research campus with jobs paying 55,000 a year and up but many of the people who would benefit opposed the project because the parent is a Chinese company. Never mind that Volkswagon is among the largest shareholders Trump says China is bad.

I can understand those people who have been led astray by the promises of Donald J. Trump that he woudl solve their problems and defeat those woke liberals who ruined their lives. What I can not understand is the lack of leadership and of the elected Republican officials who have been given multiple opportunities to tell the truth about Trump and have repeatedly bent knee and worshipped him. It is difficult to say who is the best example maybe Lindsey Graham who back in 2015 or 2016 said if we nominate Trump he will destroy the party and we will deserve it but there a host of others. I probably need to include the folks in the right wing media echo chamber as well.

It seems the biggest indicator of whether someone supported Trump last night was whether they believed the 2020 election was stolen. If someone believed they mainly supported Trump. If they did not believe it they mainly supported Haley.

Republican party officials and office holders allowed Trump to claim for months before the election that he could only lose if the election was stolen from him. When he lost they allowed him continue to claim the election was stolen and in fact amplified those claims. To see the texts from Fox News Host and how different they werre form their public statements in shocking and enraging. But whywould the "common man" believe these lies when no one they trust told them differently. In one of the initial debates the moderator asked the candidates if they would support Trump if he were the nominee. Everyone except Hutchinson adn Christie raised their hands (DeSantis always a profile in courage first looked to see what others were doing). If the candidates running against Trump believe he is fit for office and willing to support him why shouldn't Joe from small town Iowa or Illinois?

The politicization of the evangelical church also factors in here. Wrapping the poltical battle in religion gives it a component where compromise is impossible.

As someone else said in this thread I am worried about the outcome of the 2024 election either way. If Trump wins I dont know if the guardrails will hold. If Trump loses I dont know how the Republican party accepts the legitimacy of the election and that is the most fundamental characteristic of the past 200 plus years.