CORRUPTION IS THE TRUMP BRAND:

In the case of Trump and, to a lesser degree, Johnson, a notorious past was part of the package when voters hired them on. Certainly for Trump, the tabloid scandals, bankruptcies, cruelty, dishonesty, and braggadocio that had been very much part of his public character were part of how he got the big job. 

Like his forebears Huey Long or Boss Tweed, and many other political insurgents here and abroad, Trump's brawling, enthusiastically corrupt ways were styled as evidence of his willingness to fight an even more corrupt political establishment. Whether it was Standard Oil, the monied interests in Albany, or the "lying press," the entrenched power of elites was so vast that only someone who could draw on an opposing reservoir of dirty tricks and shady funds could dislodge them.

As a consequence, the supporters of these insurgents either turn blind eyes or actively celebrate their misdeeds. If you're trying to fight fire with fire, you don't join the bucket brigade.

But a moral space so capacious makes these leaders lazy and indifferent. They become sloppy and often meet their ends over seemingly small matters, stolen memoranda or lockdown booze busts. Trump was probably right that his supporters would have forgiven him for shooting someone on Fifth Avenue, but over time, the scandals and controversies take their toll. 

The hardcore backers may always remain, but the marginally attached, conditional supporters drift away. By the time Trump gets to a debate stage, if he ever does, the memories of not just pretty corruption but the nightmare of January 6 and his effort to steal another term will point voters away from him.

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