I think one thing that often gets passed is that Trump was the brokest of clocks and would sometimes pay lip service that things that the citizens actually want, like avoiding participating directly in new wars. Not that it was ever applied consistently, but it was a legitimate campaign thing both in 2016 and 2020 where civilian republicans claimed that Clinton and Biden wanted WW3 and since Trump’s campaign was also extremely contradictory he got to play both warmonger and pacifist to his followers.
You can even see how some traditionally anti-war “centrists” like Tulsi Gabbard have gone full Republican after the Ukraine war and how older Republicans have changed from Bush era “we need to bring freedom to their souls from their bodies” to “genocide in america first”. The other explanations are valid too, but it is also a genuine concern of a portion of Republican voters and since the Democrats can’t keep their cluster munitions in their pants it’s a free win for Republicans.
I think one thing that often gets passed is that Trump was the brokest of clocks and would sometimes pay lip service that things that the citizens actually want, like avoiding participating directly in new wars. Not that it was ever applied consistently, but it was a legitimate campaign thing both in 2016 and 2020 where civilian republicans claimed that Clinton and Biden wanted WW3 and since Trump’s campaign was also extremely contradictory he got to play both warmonger and pacifist to his followers.
You can even see how some traditionally anti-war “centrists” like Tulsi Gabbard have gone full Republican after the Ukraine war and how older Republicans have changed from Bush era “we need to bring freedom to their souls from their bodies” to “genocide in america first”. The other explanations are valid too, but it is also a genuine concern of a portion of Republican voters and since the Democrats can’t keep their cluster munitions in their pants it’s a free win for Republicans.