 Aloha. Thank you for your consideration of the views expressed in this ThinkTech commentary. COVID is not the only infection Trump gave us. He gave us a whole phenomenon of infection, a package of sick positions. He built this base out of disaffected people, tens of millions. We saw COVID grow to a pandemic under him, it was part of his search for chaos. History shows that autocrats need chaos to enhance their power. He gave us a country divided on COVID, on medicine, on science, where millions acted against their own interest, refused masks and medicines that would have saved their lives. His legacy is a whole package of sick positions like that. He has fomented racism and hatred, bigotry and violence, immigration policies that tear children from their parents, inhumane bans on abortion, fighting like hell against gun control that would protect our children at school, ignoring climate change, undermining voting rights and representative government, calling for people to deny the rule of law even though denying the rule of law makes their lives much worse. Is it that Trump's base all agree on all these issues? No way. People do not come to him in agreement on these issues. He reaches them on say one of them, perhaps one based on racism, hatred or bigotry. They come to him on that because they are disaffected and envious of others they consider more fortunate. Then they join Trump's madness and accept everything in his package, even if that is against their interest. Perhaps they are religious, captured by Catholic or other dogma on abortion, like the Latinos who have joined him. Perhaps they believe women should be subjugated and should not have rights, especially the right of choice. Trump reaches them on that basis, and they join his misogyny and accept all the points in his package. Of course he has charisma and that makes it easier for him. He has become a cult figure who rewards his followers for loyalty and punishes them for a lack of it. This solidifies the package, and they find themselves buying mindlessly into everything. It's a loss of free will, and it's a tragic irrationality for them and for the country. Guns are another example. Many people have perverse psychological needs to have guns, including assault rifles they will never use for any legitimate purpose. But Trump, the NRA and his citizens united dark money, result in a Faustian bargain and voila, the fetishists are his, and the school shootings continue unabated around the country. This money in the disregard of public safety, brings them to him, even though we really don't need 400 million guns for a make-believe militia. What we get are people who join up to fondle their guns and who wind up buying the whole package of destructive issues calculated only to corrupt us and destroy our safety and security. All these things are connected by a common denominator of disaffection. People who don't care about others, people who need empowerment, people who need to deny the realities of medicine and climate change to feel adequate. People who need a cult figure. He brings them in on one thing that helps them cope with their inadequacies and they buy it all, every issue he sends their way. Like a good demagogue, he sells them the whole case of snake oil, and they buy it. He whips them up to feel togetherness on January 6. When we asked them why they came that day, they didn't say they came for abortion, in control, climate change or voting legislation. They said they came for Trump. Because he told them to come. The rest of the package comes naturally. What they said tells you everything. Thanks so much for considering the views expressed in this ThinkTech commentary. Aloha.