That's not Trump... Trump doesn't = The Party. Trump doesn't = conservatism. I get that you would support the Republican Party because you don't like socialism, but that doesn't mean you have to go all in on Trump.
Trump is nearly every bad thing a person can have. He is a liar. He is petty. He is cruel. He is vindictive. He's dumb. He's a narcissist. Etc. It's amazing how many bad qualities can be attributed to him.
If you want a conservative government, great, you can get that from lots of other people without all the BS that Trump brings. Rubio, Kasich, Bush, Cruz, etc. They will all deliver the policies you want, but not tear the country in half like Trump has.
That's a decent summation ABD. Many of his detractors don't really understand him. I actually wrote in a candidate last election because I didn't like my choices. Trump is not Republican, nor is he necessarily conservative.....Trump is Trump.
Trump has personal character issues...no doubt. But so did Clinton, JFK, Churchill and FDR....to name a few. He doesn't usually represent himself very well. He's thin-skinned and doesn't like people disagreeing with him. He is a poor speaker that goes "off script" way too often which leads to mis-statements, exaggerations and lies. He also, at times, doesn't explain his policies very well. I wish he would be more diplomatic and from a personal standpoint, be more dignified in his criticism of his opposition.
Having said that, I have been pleasantly surprised and in agreement with most of his policies. He has governed far more conservative/libertarian that I could have imagined....even though he sucks at explaining it. But by and large, he has produced results. He's taken on China, worked to resolve some issues in the Middle East and made the US energy independent. The economy under his watch (until recently) has been robust.
I think Trump's main appeal to his supporters boils down to one thing.....he fights. He will get in the gutter if he has to....and people love that. I don't necessarily like that at times, but if you punch him.....he punches back twice as hard. Far too often, conservatives in the past would never respond to criticism and basically ignore it.....and let the attacks stick. I believe a large segment of folks on the right had grown tired of being told how bad they were (racist, greedy, sexist, etc.) from the Obama Administration, most of the media, universities, Hollywood, etc. and it finally boiled over. Add to that, another segment of voters were sick of business as usual in DC and clamored for an outsider.
It's just a theory, but IMO....that is how he got elected.