This, in my opinion, fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between Trump and his cultist followers, and then the further relationship that exists between them collectively and the rest of the world.
Go back and remind yourself of the pigeon drop analogy.
Got it?
Okay. Now. Here’s the thing.
Trump is not lying to his followers.
He is saying:
Participate in this lie with me.
Help me. You are my ally as we fight my our enemies. They are dishonest and crooked. They have no respect for the truth. We can fight fire with fire. We should not be constrained by the truth either. It’s irrelevant. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we fight and we win.
We are in this together.
Trump’s followers don’t care about the lies because they understand they aren’t the ones being lied to. They think they are soldiers in a bigger war. And Trump is giving them ammunition.
Edit to add: Sure, maybe there are a few true believers. But that’s not how this con works.