On the cause of "Trump Derangement Syndrome"

[Magical Realist]

I was going to mention Bush. I was not at all impressed with him when he was in office, especially when we attacked Iraq instead of going after Osama Bin Laden. But over the years, and in direct contrast to Trump, he has come to be embraced by liberals, even seen chumming around with Michelle Obama. We just had no idea how bad a person could really be back then. Trump definitely raised the bar on what is hateable to the American people. That's one good thing to come out of this.

[Syne]

Nah, it's just Bush is a more distant threat to your identity and worldview. It's the same reason leftists underestimate the danger of Iran, especially before Operation Midnight Hammer. Just too distant for the shortsighted and self-involved to take seriously. One separated by space, the other by time.

[Magical Realist]

Trump himself remarked on his MAGA supporters supporting him even if he did something horrible. I think he's right. Now who exactly are the deranged ones again?

"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?" Trump remarked at a campaign stop at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa. "It's, like, incredible."

[Syne]

You believing everything Trump says is never hyperbolic, or that people would actually excuse that, is still just your TDS at work.
You've just proven Yaz right, saying that your irrational hatred for Trump extends well beyond the one man.

[Magical Realist]

Trump isn't smart enough to use rhetorical devices. He is either outright lying, distorting, or saying what he actually thinks. The fact that he added "it's like incredible" proves it. And it is totally backed up by what has happened. MAGA unconditionally excuses and defends everything he says and does, things no normal human would ever excuse in anyone, except maybe for his pedophilia. I'll give them credit for that one. So their derangement is pretty much ideologically-motivated. Like how cult members can still adore and defend their all too fallible leader and uniformly demonize anyone who criticizes him.

"A political cult is a group with intense, unquestioning devotion to a political leader or ideology, often exhibiting cult-like behaviors such as high social cohesion, rejection of criticism, and information control. These movements often operate on a continuum of manipulation, viewing the leader as a faultless figure who holds the ultimate truth, and they frequently exhibit hostility toward outsiders."

[Syne]

Again, irrational hatred, of a man who is rich, had a popular TV show, and successfully became president twice. You don't do all of that be being an idiot, but you're so blinded by hatred that you can't give credit where it's obviously due.
And that's apparently compounded by your illiteracy, where you think a magical phase somehow makes exaggeration impossible. 9_9

Not sure who you imagine (those pesky voices in your head) never disagrees or criticizes Trump, even among Republicans. If anything, a wing of the party (horseshoe/grievance right) has gotten more critical... often those who were formerly the most cult-like. But most Republicans readily admit Trump is a flawed man, like Yaz did.