...or the "Big Man" theory for Trump as President
One of the frequently heard reasons in support of their candidate was "I just want someone to fix this mess" - and yes, this from people capable of abstract thought. Even curiouser, this from people who are quite well off by any standard - hardly the "fly-over America" demograph.
"Sooo," I'm thinking, "you want a political savior? And once installed in the White House, what's the metric for a successful fix? And what else are you willing to overlook to get your pet fix?"
Underlying their definition of 'mess' are fear and anger, thriving in a relatively fact-free environment. During the campaign they were obviously willing to overlook, well, everything- for the shot at change. Their defense of Trump was largely based on "he can't be bought", a theme he reinforced at every turn and "he's a fighter that won't quit", leading to his jaw-dropping "only I can fix this" declaration.
Many puzzles can be solved by following the money and, wow, you don't have to dig deep to grasp the influence of OPM or "other peoples money" on Trump. Republican Super PACs switched from Cruz to Rubio to Trump to further their agenda. Check out: http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/07/politics/rebekah-mercer-trump-super-pac/index.html
So, from installing key people in his campaign to their picks for cabinet posts, Trump can, in fact, be bought.
As to Trump's role as the "Big Man" - well, to re-hash Anthro 101: it's the power structure found in various tribes in Papua New Guinea. A strong man bullies and cajoles to leadership with a toxic brew of intimidation and distribution of scarce resources. His legitimacy derives more from the tribe being cowed into submission than from consent by the governed. The Big Mans' tenure is only as long as he continues to deliver the goods: I see some parallels here.
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