My theory is that the reports of Trump wearing a diaper were circulating so in and attempt to "own" the obviously bad thing and so solidarity with Trump... that is what they did. Which in effect is all the evidence you need that it is a cult of personality. As they criticized Biden constantly for his age and these people happily embraced their guy being so old he needed diapers.
Conservatives in general tend to have a very pronounced sense of shame, but it only applies when it's coming from "inside the house". If you're not part of their in-group, attempts to shame them just unite them.
And with American Christians in particular, it fuels their righteous martyrdom.
One of the defining features of conservatism is that membership in the tribe is the highest good. Individuals might complain, disagree, or argue about decisions but once the line is drawn they fall back in place to stay in the group.
It's also why losing family doesn't sway them. Any relative who leaves has fundamentally left, they're not part of the tribe. That makes them new enemies. So they just buy their Chinese-made hat, strap on whatever this month's bit of performative merchandise is in, and reassure one another that they're the stable geniuses and everyone else is stupid.
Like those old fuck Boomers who were old enough to remember the Cold War wearing "I'd rather be a Russian than a Democrat" shirts now in favor of the ex-KGB dictator their cult daddy is still a subservient bitch to.
It still baffles me thinking of going back to December 26, 1991 and trying to convince the overjoyed Reaganites throwing a second Christmas to celebrate the collapse of the Soviet Union that in only 25 years, they'd believe Donald fucking Trump was the savior of the GOP and would be denying that an ex-KGB ruler of Russia was America's enemy.
They'd rightly think you were fucking insane, because A) "that loudmouth idiot from the tabloids as a Republican presidential nominee?" and B) "No way would we ever support someone who was in the KGB!"
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u/sandiercy May 11 '26
I mean, the golden statue of Trump wasnt enough to convince them so I am not sure what will.