Yes, I just read the Blumenthal piece and it does not go into the why. It's more the history of his entanglements with Roy Cohn, the mafia, and that so many were either fooled or didn't care to hold him accountable. Ironic, that Giuliani, who prosecuted so many mobsters, became Trump's latest attempt a Roy Cohn, but way past the time of when Rudy lost his marbles.

I guess the why is because his followers believe they are victims (of the elite/of the govt/of people that don't look like them/etc) and he portrays himself as a victim and thus even though he is a billionaire, they identify with him and they follow him like a cult leader. And the why goes back to the how and why propaganda works.