Perhaps

[Metaphorical]

I think those who thought that Trump would simply be better for business are now having major second thoughts, though at the same time they keep telling themselves that this is all part of a master plan and his consolidation is intended to make the federal government more powerful and streamlined to do that. I have noticed that those who were fairly intelligent bust supported Trump earlier for his busines support have become much more circumspect in what they say, at least in my circle.

On the other hand, those who were hardcore MAGA have become even more outspoken and nasty, as if Trump has let them unleash their inner assh*le to the fullest degree. They are completely behind him at this point, as are the dominionist evangelicals. Most of the tech community despises Trump, but the VC side (the Tech Bros who are more finance-people than engineers) LOVE him.

In most nascent dictatorships, there are plenty of people who recognize what is happening, but there are also both people who simply are not paying attention to anything but their own loves, those who think that they are special and will have more power in a dictatorship, and those who frankly just want to cause violence and mayhem.

Once dictators come to power, they have no intention of leaving. They will do everything they can to subvert the system so that they cannot be removed from power. This takes a while to sink in. Trump has no intentions of holding fair elections in 2026 or ever again for that matter. Neither do the people around him, who I think are the ones directing Trump.

Fortunately, I think there IS opposition building. People are standing up to him, especially as he becomes more egregious in his power grab.