Yep I think that’s a big part of what made MAGA so successful. They said a lot of the right things. They clearly didn’t mean them, AT ALL, but naive MAGA people didn’t realize that (and to a large extent still don’t fully realize how deeply cynical the lies actually were).
That’s how he got farmers on his side, military people on his side, the rust belt working class on his side. And so many of them still are. Because they want somebody to look out for and support them, and in a world where neither party gives a fuck about any of them, the one who says they’ll give a fuck (but doesn’t) becomes the only obvious choice. I’m convinced the most truthful words that ever came out of Trump’s mouth was his infamous quote “I love the poorly educated”. They don’t have enough insight into what’s going on to realize how thoroughly betrayed they’ve been, but they feel betrayed already. That’s why they joined MAGA. It’s not a new or surprising experience for them.
Yes, I think he likes it that way. The status quo is the goal. He’s not actually progressive at all, he just wears a progressive mask when he needs to, so it gets him votes.