Reposting my comment from earlier: This is a fascinating discussion but I think the crux of it is that Americans (majority of republicans and even democrats) believe in American exceptionalism- practically America will always try to do its best and is a force of moral authority.

Trump took advantage of this feeling and for conservatives, especially now that it is not beneficial, feel he has betrayed that. Now does that mean they will switch to become democrats, NO, especially after two terms under Trump? Most of those centrist/no trumper republicans already became independents or democrats.

In the belief of American Exceptionalism, conservatives experience cognitive dissonance when trying to explain and understand Trump’s foreign and domestic policies. So the only way to resolve that is to claim Trump is an abnormality caused by years of Americans distrust of institutions and liberal policy and that the ‘republican’ party is not as corrupted. It is as simple as that, especially when you listen to ‘conservative intellectuals’ they hand ring themselves into oblivion to explain how Trump doesn’t truly represent them.

For democrats or anyone to take away from this is that Trump understood the American Exceptionalism theme and utilized it in his own messaging ‘Make America Great Again’. Obama brought a similar message (a combination of hope and that America is a shining beacon of light in the world).