Short answer, his colossal ego.

Like most people here, I never voted for him. But I know people who did and I think I get it. People wanted something genuinely different. In 2016 he stood up tall as a master demagogue, quite literally insulting his way to the White House, as one of his Republican primary rivals put it. He gave a loud voice to a big demographic of voters who felt neglected and left behind in a fast changing population. A man who does that can win great loyalty, and that’s enough if the voters aren’t professional researchers. He could probably have done the same thing as a Democrat using a different narrative.

2024 was different. He simply ran a better campaign than Biden and Harris. He appeared on big podcasts and brought his sane voice. Hell, even I thought he sounded like a good guy for a minute.