What has become clear is that Trump has the mesmerizing talent of a Jim Jones or David Koresh. He has managed to convince people not to accept any information from anyone he doesn’t approve of, and also that he is doing something that will make their lives better. He runs his Tweets and rallies like the revivalists meetings where everything must be accepted on faith, and cannot be questioned.

He is a skillful clown, who is very adept at keeping people’s attention. He also has opened the barn door and let out America’s greed, racism, misogyny and anger.

But he is also corrupt to the core, a con, a liar, and cruel. As President he has managed to get rid of anyone who had any sense of ethics and compassion, and also anyone who had any sense of strategy, or a wider world-view other than what is good for Trump. He has now surrounded himself with the likes of Barr, Pompeo, and Giuliani, who seem more than willing to join in the lying, stealing and extortion.

And, so far, the elected Republicans defend him, even as they struggle to find the words to do so. Mitch McConnell said he still doesn’t see that Trump did anything wrong. Probably because he is as corrupt himself.

There are people who will never allow themselves to reconsider their choice of Trump. We don’t know if they are 30% of those who vote, or 48%. We will find out. It really shouldn’t be a surprise, the Republicans have been working on this for years. They were only slightly more nuanced. They didn’t know that was their problem.