I don’t know. Before Trump, the conservative platform was actually conservative - though of course there were extremist fringes. But Trump sparked a sudden transition to extreme nationalist populism, which validated and legitimized those fringes, making them mainstream. Now, that ideology is the de facto face of conservatism. It’s depressing. I’ve considered myself a conservative Democrat since the 2015-2016 election cycle.

The whole party is a cult now. I got banned from the conservative subreddit just for asking - as a conservative myself - what conservative values they think a criminal like him is embodying. What exactly is he conserving? This man has cheated on all of his wives, is a racist, extremely egotistical, etc. He’s closer to the Antichrist than the second coming of Christ. His entire admin is just birds of a feather.

In this context, “hate for America” really just means hate for Trump and MAGAs.

Because he’s the one currently tanking the economy. Fuck Trump - even as a conservative, I can say that he and the current Republicans are awful. They singlehandedly pushed me into becoming a conservative Democrat since 2015-2016. Blue Dog Democrat or whatever.